News & Reviews:   Samsung Galaxy S III

Only just a few weeks ago, the price of the Samsung Galaxy S III at Maxis was slated at RM799 for a 12 months contract under their TalkMore48 plan. It appears that Maxis changed their minds as they've dropped the price of the Samsung Galaxy S III to RM599 for the same TalkMore48 plan but this time under a 24 months contract + 1GB data plan. A closer look at the details shows that the monthly for the plan remains at RM96 (RM48 + RM48) per month.

Every time I do a flagship smartphone review I always compare it with the Pomegranate phone (which was a fake/hoax). This review about the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV is no different. The only difference here, is that in some ways the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV may actually beat the Pomegranate phone. Read on and find out how.

If the Design isn't broke, don't fix it

Building upon the record sales-breaking design of the Samsung Galaxy SIII, the Samsung Galaxy S4 looks exactly like it. It has the same Polycarbonate (plastic) shell, the same rounded corners, the same look and feel. Just this time around, Samsung have somehow managed to squeeze in more screen space, make it thinner, lighter and have a bigger capacity battery.

When Samsung's Galaxy S III smartphone first came out, the goal was nothing less than world domination and the result was an awesome final quarter for Samsung in 2012. Based on this and other factors, analyst are now predicting that Samsung will reach a record breaking high of about 70+ million sales for Q1 2013. These analysts have noted that Samsung sold an estimated 25 million phones each month for 2013, which is also one of the factors predicting the 70+ million sales estimate.

While most reviews cover most of the feature tests and performance tests, testing battery life can take quite some time so it is only just now that we have the battery life tests fo the Samsung Galaxy S4. While the Samsung Galaxy S4 looks and feels about the same weight and size as the Samsung Galaxy S III, it has a bigger screen, more powerful processors and about 500 mAh more with its 2600 mAh battery. Bear in mind that these tests were done with the Snapdragon 600 quad core enabled Samsung Galaxy S4 and cover 3 tests which include talk time, web browsing and video playback.

While not having much of hardware pedigree behind it Amazon has done some amazing things with mobile devices, introducing their Kindle Fire tablets and ebook readers. Now, rumour has it that they're working on a 4.7" smartphone (much along the same lines and design as the Samsung Galaxy S III). Like so many other rumours of this kind, this one was sparked from component makers, in this case those dealing with smartphone specific components. So far other specifications are few and far in between and the only concrete news that we have is that the Amazon smartphone will probably feature the aforementioned 4.7" screen.

In a move that would likely make the Samsung Galaxy S4 even more attractive, Samsung and HP have teamed up to make it almost effortless for Samsung Galaxy S4 owners to print wirelessly using HP printers. Covering almost 200 HP Inkjets and Laserjets, the move makes wireless printing from your phone, in this case the Samsung Galaxy S4, even easier than before.

Previously, printing wirelessly from your phone required a number of applications to be set up both on the phone as well as on the connecting PC or computer hooked up to the printer. However, with this feature, users looking to do a lot of wireless printing have just one more reason to buy the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4.

Samsung Galaxy S III users who have been enviously reading up about all the new features of the Samsung Galaxy S IV can now stop feeling so jealous. Samsung officials have said that many of the new features available in the new Samsung Galaxy S IV will be made available in the Samsung Galaxy S III and other flagship models such as the Note II or perhaps the Grand. These features are mostly hardware dependent, so if it requires hardware that the S III doesn't have, it probably won't be included. However, this does mean that new features that don't require such hardware may also be included. This list may include:

• Smart scroll
• Smart pause
• Air View
• Eraser mode

Samsung Galaxy S III / S3 owners can expect a New Year's upgrade with enhancements to its camera and interface. It will arrive over the air or via the Samsung Kies sync app sometime between January 8 and 11, but Samsung says the update date will vary with country and carrier.

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Apple iPhone 4S vs Nokia 808 PureView Camera Comparison:

In this article I want to compare the camera performance of three popular mobile phones: the Apple iPhone 4S vs Nokia 808 PureView vs Samsung Galaxy S3 / SIII. Three popular mobile devices, each one with its own unique offering.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Pros:

Super AMOLED 4.8 inch display - The display of 720 x 1280 pixels Super AMOLED 4.8 inch diagonal  makes a great tool for browsing and multimedia use. Colors are vivid, contrast is good. Responds instantly to commands. Finally it is a pleasure to use.

Battery life - It turned out that the choice of a battery of 2100 mAh was an excellent choice for Galaxy S III, measured battery life reaching 10 hours of video playback or browsing. In fact, with judicious use Galaxy S III can be used easily an entire work day with active an data connection.