Samsung Galaxy S3 Launched

[lomatopo]

Korean electronics maker Samsung has finally unveiled its latest Android smartphone

Samsung has launched the latest model in its flagship Galaxy S range of Android smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S3, at an event in London tonight (3 May 2012).

Refuting the original rumour of a full HD display, Samsung announced that the Galaxy S3 boasts a resolution of 720×1280 on a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED screen.

http://www.businessw...5/D9UHFLS84.htm

http://asia.cnet.com...ed-62214745.htm

http://www.samsung.c...xys3/index.html

[beano2274]

Not yet launched, first in Europe around end of May, then Asia and the rest.

[lomatopo]

Not yet launched, first in Europe around end of May, then Asia and the rest.

Most people refer to what happened yesterday as a "launch". Product availability is a distinctly different term, and yes, the SGS3 will start to become available towards the end of this month, as is mentioned in the linked articles.

[beano2274]

It looks great, and at least there is a definite colour change. Pricing of the phone is gonna be interesting, and also then the reduction in prices of the current S2

[lomatopo]

It looks great, and at least there is a definite colour change. Pricing of the phone is gonna be interesting, and also then the reduction in prices of the current S2

I guess I expect the SGS3 to be 18,900 here when the localized product is available, let's say by the first of July. I wouldn't expect any significant (more than ~ 7 %) price erosion, from the current 16,500 price, on the SGS2 as supplies will wane faster than demand does.

[GreenSnapper]

Some quick impressions:

Innovative: wireless charging!

Good: display and display size.

Bad: display size - too big for my front pocket.

Bad2: Only 4-band 3G. 1700MHz is missing, needed in US and Japan.

Crap: MicroSIM!

[tw25rw]

Some quick impressions:

Innovative: wireless charging!

Good: display and display size.

Bad: display size - too big for my front pocket.

Bad2: Only 4-band 3G. 1700MHz is missing, needed in US and Japan.

Crap: MicroSIM!

It is supposedly only slightly bigger than the S2. I have one of those and it doesn't seem nearly as big as you might expect. It's only when compared to a colleague's iphone that is seems big at all.

I wonder if the micro sim is to provide an 'upgrade' path for iphone users. Currently it's pretty much one way..

[lomatopo]

Bad2: Only 4-band 3G. 1700MHz is missing, needed in US and Japan.

1700 Mhz is used in the U.S. for T-Mobile (3G), hardly a deal-breaker? (850/1900 used for AT&T which is a more robust provider.) 2100 Mhz support allows roaming in Japan. Easy-peasy.

[lennois]

Pretty uninspired and dissappointing cheap plasticky build imo. HTC one x looks a lot nicer build. Was waiting to see if this was any good before pulling trigger on the 13500 nexus. After seeing it decided on the nexus only to find out it has NO warranty which makes it a pretty risky purchase... ahh decisions.

[wana]

Pretty uninspired and dissappointing cheap plasticky build imo. HTC one x looks a lot nicer build. Was waiting to see if this was any good before pulling trigger on the 13500 nexus. After seeing it decided on the nexus only to find out it has NO warranty which makes it a pretty risky purchase... ahh decisions.

warranty is available if buy it for the normal price of around 19k

its just those great deal ones in mbk at 13.5k that dont have warranty

i would risk it .......

[Somtamnication]

I was not too impressed. The voice thingy is good, eye tracking is also good, wireless charging is great, quad core ok and 2100mah battery is good.

After seeing the Note, I will pass on sgs3 and wait for Note 2.0.

(Added) I also promised the pooying boss that if I buy sgs2, I will not buy a new phone for 2 years. So I am screwed anyway.

Edited May 4, 2012 by Somtamnication

[GreenSnapper]

Bad2: Only 4-band 3G. 1700MHz is missing, needed in US and Japan.

1700 Mhz is used in the U.S. for T-Mobile (3G), hardly a deal-breaker? (850/1900 used for AT&T which is a more robust provider.) 2100 Mhz support allows roaming in Japan. Easy-peasy.

Depends where you go. If you travel a lot, you need 5-band. Easy peasy.

[ShanePashen]

I was not too impressed. The voice thingy is good, eye tracking is also good, wireless charging is great, quad core ok and 2100mah battery is good.

After seeing the Note, I will pass on sgs3 and wait for Note 2.0.

(Added) I also promised the pooying boss that if I buy sgs2, I will not buy a new phone for 2 years. So I am screwed anyway.

I'm with you on this exactly, I've had a galaxy nexus from day one.

While good, I somehow expected more! a12 MP camera, a full HD display.

Exynos quad core CPU, well what software can utilise that?. maybe a faster dual core would have been better.

Nice to see the Wolfsan DAC back though.

In short I am underwhelmed, for me, I cant see what I could do better with this than my Nexus.

I expected more.

It has no WOW factor, well in my opinion anyway.

The design looks average.

LTE is country dependent

you can bet your arse when the iphone 5 hits, besides a smaller screen, it will look beautifully made, will feel of glass and metal or whatever hybrid, it will feel more tactile. and look a more expensive, classier product.

And will have some WOW about it.

siri, svoice, does anyone use that stuff anyway?

Meh I think I'll just buy a bigger aftermarket battery for my Nexus, and spend the money on something more important like booze and whores.

AFter all the hype and so long in development I expected more.

[nikster]

Judging by some videos, they make good use of the quad core processor - there's no lag anywhere. Butter smooth scrolling & transitions. About time

The PIP video is also impressive - one can play a video in overlay mode so it's in a little window on top of the rest of the UI - although only really possible because of that huge screen, IMO too big. At 4.8" this thing is nearly as big as the Note "phablet"!

Design definitely meh, I expected better. Plastic and fake metal bezel, the stubble on the chin...

S-Voice looks almost exactly like SIRI - down to the buttons etc, yet another "innovation" by Samesung. I imagine it's more of a souped up voice control than an actual AI based natural language processor.

The camera features look to be pretty useful

One thing must be said: The sheer number of new features that Samsung has packed into this phone is impressive.

Price in Europe is EUR 600. That would be 24k baht. I don't know whether Europe is traditionally overpriced as far as Samsung is concerned - Apple products are certainly way more expensive over there.

[tw25rw]

People say it's plasticy, but by S2 feels solid. Much more than it's HTC predecessor. I would rate it's chances in a drop test over an iphne.

[wana]

it looks to be a dam_n good phone ,likely in the top couple of handsets in the world right now ,maybe even the best

it has trumped the sgs2 and the galaxy nexus and the iphone 4s so its looking like king of the castle for awhile

a bigger screen than almost all the competition

huge pixel density

more processor speed (4 cores clocked at 1.4 ! )

16 gb or optional 32/64 internal storage and will support micro sd up to 64 GB also

wireless charging

LTE 4G in applicable countries

huge 2100 mhz battery!

new voice command system (for anyone that likes that kinda thing )

eye tracking software that knows when your looking at the screen

newest and best android yet 4.0.4

get an sms from a contact ,hold the phone to your ear and it starts calling by itself

turn to lanscape from locked and it opens on the camera

20 shot burst of photographs in 1 click

its got NFC

its equipped with samsung " beam "

all this in a super slim 8.6 mm device at just 133grams ??

honestly ,i think theyve done almost as much as techology can do right now ,i dont know how people can complain

when almost every aspect of the phone is improved upon over the last flagships. sgs2 or galaxy nexus just a

few months ago ,what more do people expect ??

its still too similar for me to sell my 7 month old sgs2 and "upgrade" because my sgs2 does everything i need it to and more

but for my next phone in a year or so ,i will probably get this because when the sgs4 is announced/released the price should have

dropped by 33% so it will still be a helluava lot of technology at a more sensible price

[Somtamnication]

Another plus is the camera shutter lag, virtually none in the sgs3. I hate that in my sgs2. I have a fast camera app, but pic quality is shitty. One thing I hate most about my phone.

[nikster]

Interesting article on the topic of "why is the SGSIII so ugly".

Answer: It was designed by lawyers.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/05/04/the-samsung-galaxy-s-iii-the-first-smartphone-designed-entirely-by-lawyers/

If this is true, and honestly they make a pretty good argument, it's kind of chilling. It would mean that Samsung, far from being Apple's fiercest competitor, is actually sharing in Apple's successes, so the whole Android/iPhone war is a win/win to them. The iPhone wins, they make lots of money on components - 25% of component value in the iPhone! Android wins, they make most of the Android phones.

Somehow, this leaves a bad feeling. Competition is good. If the two companies that make 99% of mobile phone profits world-wide collaborate it's bad for everyone.

[lomatopo]

Interesting article on the topic of "why is the SGSIII so ugly".

Answer: It was designed by lawyers.

http://www.androidpo...ely-by-lawyers/

If this is true, and honestly they make a pretty good argument, it's kind of chilling. It would mean that Samsung, far from being Apple's fiercest competitor, is actually sharing in Apple's successes, so the whole Android/iPhone war is a win/win to them. The iPhone wins, they make lots of money on components - 25% of component value in the iPhone! Android wins, they make most of the Android phones.

Somehow, this leaves a bad feeling. Competition is good. If the two companies that make 99% of mobile phone profits world-wide collaborate it's bad for everyone.

Gotta love the Apple fanboys, jealous much?

I love this line from the linked article:, "I can tell just from the press shots,...", What a douche, the author hasn't even handled the phone.

I guess I may be looking at a different phone but I find this design breathtakingly sleek and sophisticated; a logical extension of the hugely successful SGS1 and 2 models. Other than perhaps the U.S., most consumers favor something thin, light and sleek even if it appears to be made from plastic. The tiny, chunky, blocky, heavy feel of the iPhone seems somehow so out of date; it's a brick?

BTW, I do agree that the recent HTC refresh has resulted in some awesome new phones. The HTC One X is very, very impressive.

[ShanePashen]

Aussie suggested RRP is about $AUD 650, I believe that will correct downwards to about $500ish, when iphone 5 hits.

Would I like a SG3, yes I would, would I like it $300 more than my Nexus, no thank you.

I can manage my 16GB of files just fine, like back in the old days when we all had small hard drives.

I am running ICS 4.04 now just fine on my Nexus. I still think the 4.65" screen is awesome. I can browse, pay bills, video in HD, take good photo's and run Apps smoothly.

I may get a bigger battery, my only whinge.

When Samsung beams connects to my Samsung fridge and knocks the top off a cold one for me, and hands it to me out of the fridge. I'll be impressed!

[GreenSnapper]

Price in Europe is EUR 600. That would be 24k baht. I don't know whether Europe is traditionally overpriced as far as Samsung is concerned - Apple products are certainly way more expensive over there.

I guess it will be cheaper in Thailand - 21900 Bht?

But unless you are a gamer - why need a 4 core?

A phone is a phone and a tablet a tablet. IMHO the better combination.

[ShanePashen]

Just released outright buy prices for Oz, no plans.

http://www.kogan.com/au/shop/phones/?keywords=s3

A hell of a lot dearer than I thought, not sure how Thai prices will compare.

Makes the SG Nexus look a bargain now, as i don't think the SG3 is twice the phone the Nexus is.

but In Oz, it's twice the price!

particuclarly the 64GB

[lomatopo]

There is no reason to believe the SGS3 will be priced any higher than 18,900? The SGS2 was translating to close to 24,900, when first launched. It ended up being 18,900.

The SGN is 19,900 here, official localized version (from Samsung or AIS). Grey-market imports are as low as 13,500.

[Somtamnication]

Lomatopo, again, that depends on the size of internal memory. The high price is for the 64 gig. Funny enough, I saw an Iphone4s, 64 gig, for 21000b. No no, I will not buy it.

[lomatopo]

Lomatopo, again, that depends on the size of internal memory. The high price is for the 64 gig. Funny enough, I saw an Iphone4s, 64 gig, for 21000b. No no, I will not buy it.

I just assume that we are always talking a base configuration, i.e. 16 GB internal, whether it be an SGS2, SGN or SGS3. (Note that most SGN/32 GB are really SCH-i515 so CDMA for Verizon, or other carrier-branded i9250 models.)

When the foreign prices for the SGS2 (i9100 - 16 GB) first became available they were translating to 23,000 - 25,000 baht (I think, one review the threads), but launch MSRP ended up being 18,900.

The HTC One X has an MSRP of 21.900, but generally available at box shops for 20,800 currently.

The local Samsung sub. seems pretty savvy re:local pricing thresholds.

Edited May 8, 2012 by lomatopo

[flying]

Have to say that Galaxy S3 is looking good

[wxpwzrd]

And it is now posted on DTAC and AIS as coming soon -- I think 23000 on AIS - can't read the Thai banner...

[lomatopo]

Chatter on Thai forums mentions June 7 as a local launch date, and an MSRP of 21,900

[lomatopo]

The local MSRP of 21,900 and local (limited?) availability date of June 7, 2012 seems accurate based on the signage in most Samsung shops.

The MSRP on the SGS2 is now 17,500, after holding at 18,900 since launch nearly a year ago.

Edited May 24, 2012 by lomatopo

[ThaiLife]

Just spotted this

http://www.invadeit....t/created/desc/