The next Samsung Galaxy is here. Samsung Electronics on Thursday unveiled the GALAXY S III and thus heightening the excitement in the smartphone arena.
Premiered at a well-attended function comprising tech geeks, visiting journalists and business partners from several countries in Earls Court here, the phone will be introduced in 145 countries starting with Europe on May 29. Within a few weeks of the global launch, the smartphone, whose price is under wraps, would be available in India.
Unveiling the GALAXY S III, J.K. Shin, president and Head of IT and Mobile Communication Division of Samsung Electronics said it is the best in the class smartphone. It "sees you, listens you and understands your needs", he said, adding that the smartphone recognises your eye movements.
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Powered by Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, the Samsung GALAXY S III has a 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED display offering 16:9 wider viewing angles. The phone, available in two colours — Pebble Blue and Marble White — weighs 133 grams and is 8.6 mm thick. With an 8 MP camera and 1.9 MP front camera, it provides "a variety of intelligent camera features and face recognition related options that ensure all moments are captured easily and instantly," a press release said. The company proposes to introduce a variety of additional colour options too.
The 8 MP camera features a zero-lag shutter speed. The release said the ‘Burst shot’ function helps instantly captures 20 continuous shots, and selects the ‘Best photo’ from eight photographs. HD video can also be recorded with the 1.9 MP front facing camera.
The GALAXY S III, Samsung has maximized the consumer benefits by integrating superior hardware with enhanced smartphone usability,” Mr. Shin said, adding that the phone has been created with our human needs and capabilities in mind. The release said that GALAXY S III enhances the interaction experience between the device and user. "Smart enough to detect your face, voice and motions, the GALAXY S III adapts to the individual user to provide a more convenient and natural experience. With the innovative ‘Smart stay’ feature, the GALAXY S III recognizes how you are using your phone – reading an e-book or browsing the web for instance – by having the front camera to identify your eyes; the phone maintains a bright display for continued viewing pleasure."
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According to the company, the phone is inspired by nature and features 'S Voice', an advanced natural language user interface, which would listen and respond to the words of the user. "In addition to allowing information search and basic device-user communication, S Voice presents powerful functions in regards to device control and commands." This includes asking the Galaxy S III to play your favourite songs, adjust the volume, send text messages and emails, organize schedules, or automatically launch the camera and capture a photo.
Apart from recognizing the face and voice, it understands your motions to offer maximized usability. "If you are messaging someone but decide to call them instead, simply lift your phone to your ear and ‘Direct call’ will dial their number. With ‘Smart alert,’ the GALAXY S III will also save you from trouble by catching any missed messages or calls; your phone will vibrate to notify missed statuses when picked up after being idle," the release said.
Jean-Daniel Ayme, Vice President-European Telecommunication Operations, Samsung Electronics, said while smart technology has surrounded various spheres of life the company believed that the technology should be more than smart and hence packed the Galaxy S III will various features. It also behaves like a personal assistant with a feature called Smart Alert.
The release said that with the new ‘S Beam,’ the phone improves upon Android Beam, allowing a 1GB movie file to be shared within three minutes and a 10MB music file within two seconds by touching another GALAXY S III phone, even without a Wi-Fi or cellular signal. The ‘Buddy photo share’ function allows photos to be easily and simultaneously shared with all your friends pictured in an image directly from the camera or the photo gallery.