The highly anticipated successors to Samsung's popular smartphones are sleek, attractive and, though you can make a compelling case for the recent HTC One devices, the finest Android handsets I've come across.
Not that Samsung has achieved perfection. The S Voice feature that lets you tell the phone out loud what to do is a poor alternative to Siri on the iPhone 4S, which invites inevitable comparisons. S Voice was sometimes slow to respond and not always able to understand what I was asking. (Not that Siri is flawless.) It does let you set alarms and get a weather forecast and, like Siri, will tell a lame joke. You can also use your voice to wake up a locked phone. But I had mixed results.
Galaxy S III has a beautiful 4.8-inch mammoth high-definition display that's not quite the behemoth that is the 5.3-inch display on the Samsung Galaxy Note "phablet" phone tablet. Galaxy S III weighs 4.7 ounces, but doesn't feel heavy, and is a mere third of an inch thick.
The phone has a slippery plastic feel that may bother some but didn't bother me. While I generally appreciate the aesthetics, I did accidentally press the back button just below the screen.
With the customary contract, it will sell for about $200-$230 for versions with 16 gigabytes of storage, rising to about $250-$280 for 32 GB. Models are coming from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular.
Samsung supplied two units for testing, a white model from Sprint and a "pebble blue" model from AT&T. The phones have a microSD slot for extra storage concealed under the back cover and near the removable battery. On the battery, I got through a full day of mixed usage.
The phones have zippy dual-core Qualcomm processors and run Android 4.0, known as Ice Cream Sandwich. You don't feel strained when a bunch of programs run at once. The units, however, did run a little hot. When Wi-Fi was out of reach, the 4G LTE network on the AT&T phone outperformed the poky 3G network on the Sprint.
Galaxy S III is an excellent camera phone. The rear 8-megapixel camera has an LED flash and can capture full 1080p HD video. The front camera can handle lower-quality HD. A "burst shot" option lets you capture up to 20 photos in a burst at around three photos per second. You can capture stills from the same screen while shooting video.
If the phone recognizes faces of people you have previously tagged — it worked with my mug — you can easily send photos directly to them .
Another feature, called Share Shot, lets you instantly share pictures with other Galaxy owners who have turned on a function called Wi-Fi Direct. You can transmit pix to up to five devices — up to a football field away, Samsung says — potentially handy for friends attending the same gathering. The feature worked in my tests, but I'm not sure how useful it will be in practice. Each person you are sharing images with must turn on Share Shot and turn on Wi-Fi Direct. And you're probably not going to want to share everything, so you'll have to remember to turn them off.
Yet another sharing feature is called S Beam. You place two Galaxy S III's back-to-back to transfer pictures, videos, documents and music files, even when you don't have a Wi-Fi or cellphone connection. The idea is that you can share whatever is on the screen — a movie, say, that you are watching on the video player. The process wasn't always seamless. S Beam works in conjunction with a similar Android Beam feature that is also on hand to allow you to share contacts, Web pages, YouTube videos, directions and apps by placing devices back-to-back.
Samsung is touting a Smart Stay feature that detects when your eyes are fixed on the screen to prevent it from dimming or locking. Another feature: If you're in the middle of a text conversation and decide to call, you can simply lift the phone to your ear to make the call.
Most human beings will like the Galaxy S III, as I did. After all, it's a phone designed for us.
The bottom line
Samsung Galaxy S III
$200 on up, from all major U.S. carriers
Pro: Attractive Ice Cream Sandwich phone has sleek design and large, lovely display. Excellent camera phone. Various sharing options.
Con: S Voice is imperfect.
E-mail: ebaig@usatoday.com. Follow @EdBaig on Twitter.
Snap judgment: Samsung Galaxy S3 smart phone - Entertainment Weekly Online
Samsung held the North American launch for the latest iteration of its flagship Galaxy phone in New York today. Sizzle came courtesy of white pleather furniture, lots of blue light, 100-degree heat outside, and basketball-star guests Bill Walton, Steve Nash, and Kevin Love inside — not to mention the speculative buzz about whether the new device will be an “iPhone killer.”
The Galaxy S3 will be available in the U.S. starting Thursday, but it had its worldwide unveiling in London back in May, so the tech-savvy crowd who came today wielding iPhones, various Android devices, and fancy cameras with interactive touchscreens (not a Blackberry in sight, however — sorry RIM!) was already familiar with the storyline: The S3 is a cool phone, probably the best Galaxy yet, but it’s up for debate whether it is awarded the Android crown over HTC’s One X phone.
Oh, and that “iPhone killer” moniker? It will likely remain out of reach for at least another generation. Certainly, the Galaxy boasts a ton of obvious advantages over the iPhone. For starters, though both are priced at about $199 for the 16 GB models, the Galaxy is available on five carriers: Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and US Cellular — a big differentiator from the three-carrier iPhone.
Then there’s the Galaxy’s beautiful 4.8-inch HD screen (iPhone’s is just 3.5). If you’re a specs geek, you know that the Samsung screen technically has less resolution than the iPhone 4S’s retina display. It looked every bit as bright and clear to this iPhone owner — I played with it for about an hour — and the Galaxy’s larger size makes easier on the eyes for watching a video or reading a longer article.
The Galaxy’s plastic casing may be a turnoff for some. The thin, streamlined device is noticeably lighter than an iPhone, but it also feels less durable. Samsung equipped it with the same Gorilla Glass front as on the iPhone, and it’s said to be just as sturdy (no one at today’s event was testing that theory, of course). But there’s no getting around a chintzy feel when you first pick it up.
As for the Galaxy’s unique features, one of the most intriguing was AllShare., which enables seamless sharing of video, photos, or music (without using your data plan). AllShare Play allows the user to stream media to a home theater system over WiFi, and the AllShare group sharing feature enables instant sharing of photos between up to six Galaxy phones.
The eight-megapixel camera was also impressive. Picture quality seemed about on par with most smart phones, but the S3 comes bundled with a bunch of fun photo (and video) editing software, as well as its rapid-fire Burst Shot feature, which enables up to 20 photos per second and claims to be capable of automatically picking the best of the spray-and-pray bunch based on lighting, focus, and other aspects (the feature seemed to work as advertised, based on today’s demo).
One thing I was disappointed to not see today was the Galaxy’s S Voice, Samsung’s answer to Siri. Most reviews have been fairly critical of the technology, saying it is unreliable and fails to consistently understand commands. The feature was completely absent from the presentation today, and I was told it’s because they can’t access the network S Voice needs from the venue where the presentation was held. Considering how highly touted the feature was when the device rolled out in London, this felt like a weak excuse. Perhaps future upgrades will improve S Voice, but for now the feature seems more like a beta version add-on.
The other disappointment was the built-in facial recognition technology, which is supposed to recognize faces in your photos, automatically label them, and assign them to your contacts for one-touch sharing. This feature was also absent from formal presentations, and when I asked for a demo at one of the stations, the software failed to recognize the subject of three almost-identical portraits. On the bright side, you can manually label faces in your photos and later go back and sort by name, similar to the way you can in iPhoto, but it’s a feature that’s not available on the iPhone.
Bottom line: The Galaxy S3 is a nice step forward for Samsung, providing a number of fun, useful features for media consumption and sharing. The light plastic frame may be a deal breaker for some, but the larger screen is awesome and makes the iPhone display feel cramped, even outdated. But with key features seeming not yet ready for prime time, and pricing being about the same as the iPhone, Samsung isn’t likely to unseat the king just yet.
Review: Galaxy strong contender to iPhone - AP - msnbc.com
NEW YORK — Until I started watching videos on Samsung's new Galaxy S III phone, I never thought of the iPhone's display as small.
The Galaxy's screen measures 4.8 inches diagonally, compared with 3.5 inches for the iPhone. That translates to a display area that's nearly twice the size. Yet the Galaxy is thinner and lighter.
Apart from that, the Galaxy shares the iPhone's curvy and shiny design, along with a center button that wakes up the device from power-saving mode or takes you from whatever you're doing to a home screen.
Unlike the iPhone, the Galaxy runs on faster 4G cellular networks (AT&T markets its iPhones as 4G, but the network is based on older technology). The Galaxy also comes with a new wireless technology called near-field communications, which can be used to share files and make purchases.
Pictures taken with the Galaxy were sharper and had better light balance than those with the iPhone, based on a handful of test shots I took. The Galaxy's tool for measuring data usage — for those of us no longer on unlimited plans — surpasses what comes with the iPhone.
All that makes the Galaxy a strong contender to Apple's popular device.
I understand the comparison isn't entirely fair. The iPhone 4S is about eight months old, and there's a new model expected this fall. Last week, Apple previewed changes to the phone's operating system, promising improvements to its Siri virtual assistant, a mapping service with voice navigation and more.
But the reality is the new Galaxy is available now — not in September or October.
All four national wireless companies and regional carrier U.S. Cellular will sell the Galaxy, which runs the latest operating software from Google, a flavor of Android known as Ice Cream Sandwich.
The basic model with 16 gigabytes of memory will cost $200 with a two-year contract through AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and U.S. Cellular. That's comparable to the iPhone's $199. A 32 GB model will cost $250, which is cheaper than a comparable iPhone at $299. T-Mobile will charge at least $30 more than others, though it may still be cheaper overall with lower monthly data fees over two years.
The Galaxy phones will be available in white or blue. AT&T will also have a red version this summer, but it won't carry the 32 GB model. Availability starts this week, though dates vary by wireless company.
Now back to Galaxy's screen.
The Galaxy shines when displaying widescreen video. That's because much of the display's increase is in width rather than in height when the phone is held on its side, or landscape mode. The iPhone wastes some display real estate to make wider videos fit. There are unused strips of black above and below those videos.
When watching a foreign movie through a Netflix app, the Galaxy's larger screen makes the subtitles much easier to read. I can read them fine on the iPhone, but my eyes kept zeroing in on the text to do so, making me miss the action.
The colors on the Galaxy also appeared richer, thanks to a screen that uses organic light-emitting diodes, rather than a standard LCD.
All that video can deplete your data allowance in no time.
On the iPhone, the tool for measuring data usage isn't easy to find. You have to choose "General" in your settings, then "Usage," and then "Cellular Usage." There's info there on the amount of data sent and received, but no total. You have to remember to manually reset the counter each month on the day your billing cycle starts.
On the Galaxy, "Data usage" is the third item from the top under "Settings." You can tell the phone when to warn you that you're about to reach your cap for the month. You can also automatically disable data usage when you've reached a pre-specified point to avoid extra charges. You don't have to do any math to get the total used, and the counter automatically resets each month. You can also see which apps use the most data.
Before I go further, I'll say a few things about where the iPhone still excels.
— The iPhone has more software from outside parties, extending the device's functionality. Many apps are written only for the iPhone and other Apple devices. Versions for the Galaxy and other Android phones sometimes come months later and lack all of the features.
— The iPhone works better than Android devices in corporate settings. Android, for instance, lacks the tools needed to access Wi-Fi at my office or the corporate email system (though some might consider that a plus for Android).
— The iPhone has Siri, the virtual assistant that hears your voice commands and talks back.
The Galaxy introduces a voice assistant, but she's best described as Siri's forgotten stepchild. The Galaxy couldn't find an Indian restaurant just a block from me, and she gave me the name of a doctor when I asked for Thai restaurants. The Galaxy also lacks Siri's attitude and sense of humor.
Me: "What is the best smartphone?" Siri: "Wait, there are other phones?"
The Galaxy replied with the grammatically incorrect and boring, "Opinion vary but I think Samsung Galaxy is the best of them all."
Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC One X compared - CNET News
How well does the HTC One X stack up against the Samsung Galaxy S III?
(Credit: Brian Bennett/CNET)If you're a loyal AT&T subscriber, love Android, and need a new phone badly, you've got a tough choice ahead. Both of today's hottest handsets, the Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC One X, are yours for the taking.
The problem is figuring out which one is a better option. These two superphones are each winners in their own right, but if push comes to shove and you had to select just one, which AT&T device is truly worthy of a place in your pocket? Let's get down to brass tacks and find out.
As you can see from this handy dandy chart, both the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X can hold their own. They do differ in several ways, which makes picking one over the other that much more difficult.
Design
Sculpted from a single block of fancy polycarbonate plastic, the HTC One X is a lovely handset for sure. Its all-white chassis is also pretty striking, plus it feels smooth yet grips fingertips well. Despite its massive 4.7-inch screen, the One X is thin too (0.36 inch) but not quite as trim as the Galaxy S III (0.34 inch).
The Galaxy S III's design outdoes the One X in other ways too, with Samsung's latest flagship phone packing both a microSD card slot and removable battery. Samsung Galaxy phones have also gained a bad rap for their cheap-feeling plastic construction. Not so with the Galaxy S III, which sports smoothly rounded curves that fit hands like a glove. And while the Galaxy S III is indeed made from plastic, it has a more premium paint job than its predecessor.
HTC takes care in the One X's premium plastic construction.
(Credit: CNET)
Samsung also upped its design game with the Galaxy S III.
(Credit: josh MIller/CNET) Display
It's hard not to be entertained by the Galaxy S III's massive 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED screen. It boasts a high 1,280 by 720-pixel resolution and flaunts colors that pop and blacks that are lusciously deep. The HTC One X's 4.7-inch Super LCD is a contender as well. It too offers a sharp 1,280 by 720-pixel resolution, and while the screen's colors aren't as saturated, its hues are more lifelike. Additionally, images and text are more crisp on the One X, plus the display is much brighter. Of course, which of the phone's displays you prefer breaks down to your personal preference. Frankly I hear echos of the old plasma versus LCD HDTV debate.
Features and performance
Samsung threw all the bells and whistles into the Galaxy S III. The cutting-edge device comes with a boatload of special software and interface enhancements, some of which work better than others. Real standouts, though, are Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and S Beam for transferring content between phones such as photos and video by bumping them together. Running the Galaxy S III's show is a fast 1.5GHz dual-core processor paired with a whopping 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard memory.
The HTC One X is no slouch either, equipped with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC's latest Sense 3 UI, which is both intuitive and powerful. Sure, the One X may not come with the amount of ambitious gesture or voice controls as the Galaxy S III. I'd argue, though, that too many snazzy enhancements and special functions may be overwhelming or have limited value. A 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 chip pushes the One X's software along at a quick clip. That said, the phone's RAM tops out at 1GB, though 16GB of ROM is included.
Camera and network
Both the Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC One X pack formidable 8-megapixel cameras with backlit sensors. The dueling phones also take advantage of Ice Cream Sandwich's new burst shot feature and can capture images with machine gun rapidity. Still, the Galaxy S III wins by a hair in the camera department, capturing clearer and more pleasing HD video. It also has a higher resolution 2MP front-facing camera compared to the One X's 1.3MP vanity image sensor.
When it comes to network connection, the two handsets, thankfully, link to AT&T's swift 4G LTE infrastructure and both delivered similar data speeds on our tests. We recorded average download speeds north of 15Mbps with peaks exceeding 20Mbps. Of course, your particular experience will vary depending on the usual variables such as the time of day, location, and the proper alignment of celestial bodies. We also conducted data testing for the Galaxy S III in San Francisco and the HTC One X in New York.
Verdict
I have to say it's a close call and you'll be served exceptionally well by either of these two phones. If you absolutely must have a bleeding-edge device and want the option of swapping out batteries in a pinch or if your power cell fails, the Samsung Galaxy S III is the way to go. I do know that HTC handsets flaunt a distinctive soul all their own, right down to their elegantly crafted interface and quality craftsmanship. If you fall into this camp, only the HTC One X will float your boat.
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