Samsung Galaxy S III hands-on
By Raaj Datta
Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone’s impressive debut last week has generated a lot of attention since then. A big phone indeed –with a difference. There is a lot of software in this new phone that goes on enhancing the Android 4.0 experience. Takes up a lot of time to go through all the detail, but since this is a hands-on, let’s go on with just that.
The Samsung Galaxy S III comes in two colours – dark blue and glossy white. Apart from the appearance, the first thing you’ll notice is its 4.8-inch 720×1280 Super AMOLED HD display. With true colours and a very fast response time, viewing experience is amazingly sharp. The quad-core processor does a neat job of managing simultaneous applications. The user interface with TouchWiz is real fun. Samsung mentions this phone as “designed for humans” and somewhere in smaller fonts, “inspired by nature.”
The Basics
Let’s get to the primary function of the smartphone or of any other phone – the on-screen keyboard. This one isn’t too different from its predecessor, the Galaxy S II. The keys are a bit narrow and small, which results in quite a few typing mistakes if you are not careful. But then, the onscreen keyboard isn’t the only interface from where you can call a number. The Samsung S Voice really comes in handy. Looks like a distant cousin of Siri, but nevertheless it works. The TouchWiz gallery lets you tag photos of whoever you know, and from there you can make a call. While texting, simply bring the phone close to your ear and the Galaxy S III will automatically dial the number for you. There’s too little to complain.
Camera
The 8MP camera responds very fast. The camera can automatically take a burst of 8 shots and choose the best one from the bunch. Works well in low light as well. The Galaxy S III also attempts to tag a photo of a friend or whoever is on the list based on existing photos in the gallery. Tap on a face in the photo to send it to the person.
The front-facing camera is rather unusual. It can track your eye movement. Take your face away from the front of the phone or doze off, it automatically turns off the screen.
S Voice and S Beam
Unlike most functions in the phone, S Voice works straight on. Tap twice on the home screen and ask the phone a question and it responds. S Voice can fetch you answers for your queries when connected to the Internet. There are localised functions as well and they work pretty well. You can even tell the camera to shoot a picture. Siri will have a tough competition on this one.
S Beam requires NFC or Wi-Fi to work. You can transfer documents, photos, videos, and music instantly. You just need to tap two phones.
Lock Screen
The lock screen on the Samsung Galaxy S III is greatly enhanced from its predecessors. You can configure it to show news feeds as ticker on the bottom of the screen. Use the “tap and rotate” gesture to launch the camera directly from the lock screen.
The Galaxy S III looks plain but there are a lot of functionalities and features – which we will take you through soon.
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