MyBroadband lays hands on the Samsung Galaxy S3

I think it is a nice phone over all but (Luckily) it doesn't make me regret getting a SII in Dec 2011. :D
 
With the S2 the choice was simple ... get it ... upgrade! With this one it is not like that. If the Note was not in the mix then it would have been clearer perhaps, but as things are the Note still wins the day imo.
 
The Note is amazing. This has the best processor of any mobile device currently though, I believe.
 
My upgrade is only in July. It's a choice between the Iphone 4S and the S2. So far the S2 is my first choice. The S3 will be too expensive so early.
 
I think the SGS3 is meh. All the new features can be accomplished by apps as well. My contract expires 21 May, I'm torn between the One X and the Note. One X for the more advanced tech and great camera and the Note for more screen real estate and the S-pen. I might even throw a Galaxy Tab 7.7 in the mix as well to complicate matters even more.
 
I agree. Meh.

The only REAL improvement is the screen and, honestly, is that worth the predictably pathetic battery life and the sentence to carry a brick around for two years? Not in my opinion.
 
I have the S2, and I'll definitely be grabbing this guy when my contract is up for renewal.

1) The screen. Samsung's flagships have always been amazing to look at, and one of the few things I don't love about the S2 is the fact that I can make out pixels at a short distance.
2) The camera - Without reviews, I can't know for sure, but I expect it to be a marked improvement ( 20 shot bursts, photos while videoing ) Points toward a dedicated image processor.
3) Quad core? Well, I don't expect to see a major performance improvement, ( SGS2 is underutilized as it is ), but as far as power efficiency goes, this will be noticable
4) Do I need to really have a reason? It's so very pretty, and a man must always have the latest gadgets, right?
 
Not bad but not particularly impressive either. My upgrade though will be to a Nokia 808 Pureview! Can't wait. Due to upgrade in November and 808 being released to certain countries later this month so it should be here in time!
 
I really just want one thing out of a replacement for the S2. LONGER BATTERY LIFE. I love the phone but the battery life is really pathetic. What was Samsung thinking when they released the S2? I love the phone but I hate the short battery life.
 
I will certainly consider it once the benchmarks and complete reviews come out. I have been holding on my upgrade. I still have the S1, so for me this is a worthwhile upgrade. I can see how it may not be a worthwhile upgrade for those on the S2.

However to all the haters, can you actually state what you actually expected from the phone to have made it worth while?

Processor:
Don't say it should have had the A15 processor as everyone knows that is only due for 2013. So you cannot expect them to build a phone with a processors that effectively does not exist yet. The logical solution was increase cores(2->4), increase clock speed,(1.2Ghz-1.4Ghz) and reduce power consumption(20%). They did all 3.

Screen:With increasing demand for larger screens(12%), higher resolutions(240%) and higher dpi(41%) that what you got: 480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches (~217 ppi pixel density) -> 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.8 inches (~306 ppi pixel density). Ok so you say it's only Super AMOLED and not PLUS. With the much higher DPI I am willing to bet you will not even notice and still experience a overall increase in quality. Sure it is slightly less energy efficient but probably also less expensive but they make up for power consumption in other ways. The larger screen size also does not affect the dimensions all that much. Only 4.5mm wider and 11.3. Although the width affect grip most. From seen people hold it it does not look like it's too big.

Battery: Being removable remains a plus compared to the trend of other phones brands. Also it's capacity has increased by 27%. 1650mAh ->2100mAh. Due to larger less efficient screen it may not increase battery life but i'm sure it will be similar.

Design: Many complain about the design. That a matter of taste and preference, but I believe it looks very good. They have given color choices and I would say it sticks to the Galaxy design theme without looking too different. Again what did you expect here. People always seems to want something more solid and with metal etc. However the galaxy phones are actually allot more durable and solid than iPhones(which just shatter into 100 bits) in drop tests etc. The only thing I agree in is that it's not all that exciting.

Camera: Many people will be disappointed that the camera remains 8MP. But remember if you know anything about photography and cameras you will know that Megapixels is not everything. More is not always better. More pixels just mean more possible noise that can be introduced if the optics is not good enough among many other factors. Although I doubt you will end up with much better quality photos than the S2 at least they gave other features like instant snap(no shutter lag) and best photo etc.

Other:
LTE is was added for countries that are about to support it. Not a plus for the rest of us.
It also has upgraded to Gorilla glass 2. Not sure of the benefit but i'm sure it's positive.
Has NFC built it.
Some might complain that it does not use on screen soft buttons, but I assure you that reduces screen real estate and is a feature designed to lower end phones to save cost.

Summary:
All in all Samsung did not disappoint because most of the rumours turned out to be true. People are disappointed and let down because they always expect surprises. Since the cat was let out of the bag with all the hype and rumours the actual announcement seemed like a let down. But people do comment on what your (realistic)expectations were that were not met.
 
When will this be on the service providers contract plans? Im upgrading end of month and this should hopefully bring down the cost of the S2 as I wont be able to afford the S2 even at this stage, but am so desperately wanting it.
 
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