Samsung Galaxy S3: Out of this world?

 

Galaxy S3 specifications and features revealed

Samsung has finally unveiled the follow-up to its popular Galaxy S2 smartphone - the Samsung Galaxy S3.

The Galaxy S2 is credited with helping Samsung to become the most successful smartphone manufacturer in the world, outselling even Apple - though not in the UK.

That success means that the Galaxy S3 has been something of an open secret for months, but the UK press got its first official look at the handset at an event in London last night.

The Galaxy S3 is a big phone. Its 4.8in AMOLED high-definition screen is noticeably bigger than its predecessor’s not insubstantial 4.3in. It is powered by a 1.4Ghz quad core processor, has 1GB RAM and either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of onboard memory, depending on the model.

Storage can be extended with MicroSD cards, and all users get 50GB of storage from web-based hosting service Dropbox, meaning photos, music and videos can be stored online instead of on the phone itself.

Camera-wise, the Galaxy S3 has an eight megapixel lens on the back, and a 1.9Mp front-facing camera. The handset also comes in two colours - “pebble blue” and “marble white”.

Samsung also showed off some of the Galaxy S3’s new features. For example, there’s the Smart Stay feature, where the phone tracks your eyes, so as long as you’re staring at it, the display won’t switch off.

There’s also improved social network integration - the phone can automatically tag photos, or send images to people it detects are in pictures.

And for Android advocates jealous of Apple’s talkative virtual assistant Siri, there’s S-Voice, which lets you control your phone through natural voice commands.

Other snazzy new features include S-Beam - which enables very fast wireless file transfer between phones- and the ability to play videos in a window on the homescreen.

The new Galaxy S3 will launch in Europe at the end of May, with a 4G-enabled version to hit the US at some point this summer.

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