Taking Samsung's Galaxy S III On Vacation

[Marcus Yam]

We go hands-on with the latest and greatest Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Taking Samsung's Galaxy S III On Vacation : Read more

 

[derkman]

The beast.

 

[mt2e]

wtf is 2gig of memory gonna do ROFLOL......google nexus ftw

 

[Marco925]

[citation][nom]mt2e[/nom]wtf is 2gig of memory gonna do ROFLOL......google nexus ftw[/citation]
You sound like the alleged bill gates comment that 640K should be enough for everyone. Eventually phones will need 2GB of RAM..

 

[elcentral]

[citation][nom]Marco925[/nom]You sound like the alleged bill gates comment that 640K should be enough for everyone. Eventually phones will need 2GB of RAM..[/citation]
yes looking at the power it got it could use 2 gig ram, and ram is not really expansive so why not. damn you nokia gif me 808 already : (

 

[amdwilliam1985]

"After getting used to a 4.8-inch screen, it's tough to move back to anything much smaller."

Exactly, I got the TMobile 4.5" SGS2, it was awkward at the beginning. Now that I got used to it, I can't type on the puny 3.5" on the iPhone. FYI, I can touch every inch/corner on my SGS2 with no problem with my left hand, so it is an one-hand phone to me
The TMobile SGS2 has very similar physical dimension to the SGS3.

 

[freggo]

iPhone looks a bit like a 'brick' next to it.
Apparently Apple are not the only ones with talented designers on staff 🙂

 

[Camikazi]

[citation][nom]freggo[/nom]iPhone looks a bit like a 'brick' next to it.Apparently Apple are not the only ones with talented designers on staff 🙂[/citation]
iPhone is a brick, even my HTC Incredible had slightly rounded edges to be more comfortable in your hand. I can't use an iPhone for long, one it's too small (I have big hands, had same problem with my Incredible) and 2 it ends up hurting my hands cause of the shape since I am used to more comfortable rounded edges phone like my Incredible and my Bionic.

 

[tim sutton]

I'm really not sure what this whole deluded "no no, guys, really, the dual core Krait might be better than the quad Exynos " thing is about.

Firstly, it's not. It just isn't. That's why its not in ALL the S3s produced world wide, rather than just the ones Samsung were forced to put it in.

Secondly, why do you care!? Its still massively quick in its slightly inferior US variant and you have LTE! As a Brit, I'm almost certain I'd prefer it that way round.

Gah.

 

[joebob2000]

The most noticeable thing about the S3 compared to other "brick" phones like the iPhone or old Android models is that even the glass screen, that runs clear to the edge of the face, is curved nicely down into the side of the handset. It's hard to describe or notice a difference until you actually hold one and realize that it's rounded in every direction and very very easy to hold. Not to get all fanboy, but it really is wonderfully designed.

 

[joebob2000]

[citation][nom]tim sutton[/nom]I'm really not sure what this whole deluded "no no, guys, really, the dual core Krait might be better than the quad Exynos " thing is about.Firstly, it's not. It just isn't. That's why its not in ALL the S3s produced world wide, rather than just the ones Samsung were forced to put it in. Secondly, why do you care!? Its still massively quick in its slightly inferior US variant and you have LTE! As a Brit, I'm almost certain I'd prefer it that way round.Gah.[/citation]

"Better" or "Worse" is hard to quantify since the phone has so little runtime in the real world so you are right that any attempt (including your little "slightly inferior" jab) to rate the CPUs like that lacks merit.

And yes, LTE giving me 20Mbit+ download speeds, on my PHONE, is quite awesome. So there.

 

[frank_drebin]

you gotta have pretty big pockets literally and figuratively to use Galaxy S3...

 

[vertigo_2000]

[citation][nom]Camikazi[/nom]iPhone is a brick, even my HTC Incredible had slightly rounded edges to be more comfortable in your hand. I can't use an iPhone for long, one it's too small (I have big hands, had same problem with my Incredible) and 2 it ends up hurting my hands cause of the shape since I am used to more comfortable rounded edges phone like my Incredible and my Bionic.[/citation]
Wow. Not saying it is, but if your biggest problem in life is that your smartphone hurts your hands when you hold it, you can consider yourself luckier than 99.9999% of the world.

 

[mayne92]

Nice article Marcus.

 

[wildkitten]

[citation][nom]Marco925[/nom]You sound like the alleged bill gates comment that 640K should be enough for everyone. Eventually phones will need 2GB of RAM..[/citation]
The problem is phones wouldn't need 2GB of RAM anytime soon if Google would optimize the Android OS.

I have the Bionic, and while I am by no means someone who downloads hundreds of app or has dozens of widgets running (I have maybe 5 widgets running) it seems I have 650MB of 1GB RAM used.

The main reason for this is the ridiculous amounts of programs Android will just start that I never started. Anytime there is a data drop, Play Market, GMail, Slacker, Music, G+ and several other apps start by themselves. The email will also automatically check itself though I have it set for Manual in the settings. There is just no good reason why all these apps need to start up by themselves. Many I don't even use, but can't uninstall unless I root which takes me off the OTA path if I do uninstall the apps.

Many people say "Well Android will free up memory by closing apps". This is true, but the problem is it doesn't shut down apps that aren't wanted. The first thing it will shut down is the launcher replacement. Obviously I want that running, so by closing it, this automatic clearing of memory is more of a hassle.

It's also ridiculous apps don't all have Exit buttons. I know it can be done, Tunein and Weather Channel have them, as does a couple other apps. When I hit Exit, those programs close and stay closed until I want them open. Opening these apps doesn't take any longer to bring them up than it does an app already loaded into memory, at least not any longer that is noticeable. It's ridiculous my phone uses almost as much memory as my Windows desktop.

Perhaps if Android didn't think it knew better than me how I want to use my phone, it wouldn't need so much RAM, at least not anytime soon.

 

[captaincharisma]

[citation][nom]Marco925[/nom]You sound like the alleged bill gates comment that 640K should be enough for everyone. Eventually phones will need 2GB of RAM..[/citation]

well its not like anyone will be playing graphic intensive games like call of duty or battlefront on smartphones someday. all people will use phones for are apps for functionality and word processing and you do not need 2GB+ ram for that. tablets are a different story because of the bigger screens

 

[_Pez_]

well [citation][nom]captaincharisma[/nom]well its not like anyone will be playing graphic intensive games like call of duty or battlefront on smartphones someday. all people will use phones for are apps for functionality and word processing and you do not need 2GB+ ram for that. tablets are a different story because of the bigger screens[/citation]
well I do play intensive games on my smartphone

 

[belardo]

Phone is still too damn big. I love the idea of a PHYSICAL home button.

But I still don't care for its cheap-plastic glossy feel... I've been playing with a GS3 in the store along with the HTC... waiting for the new Motorola to come out to decide. But then again, the smaller iPhone4 is a lot easier to hold.

 

[_Pez_]

IPhones are a real pain transfernig files from one device to another noniphone or PC, and I dont like Iunes.

 

[tleavit]

I have one here also, got it ordered early through our business channels. So far the thing is much better then my old Incredible. One shocking thing to me is how weak and feeble the unit is. This thing will NOT stand up to our business users. I think I almost broke the rear case just trying to pop it off normally to get the battery in.