Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III review: S to the third

20 May 2012
Today is no ordinary day for the GSMArena test track, which is about to see the Bugatti Veyron of smartphones do the rounds in an attempt to beat the lap record of its predecessor. Samsung have spared no effort to protect the Galaxy S III against any odds.

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  • M
  • Meehhh!!!
  • Nqq
  • 23 May 2012

Does it run 1920 x 1080 resolution files at full HD ( 1080 p ) smoothly???

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • J5Q
    • 23 May 2012

    AnonD-49280, 23 May 2012Baffles the hell out of me whey soooooo many people are mak... moreGorilla Glass IS still only glass but everyone know Gorilla glass is very much stronger than glass, and polycarbonate is stromger than "normal" plastic!

      • D
      • AnonD-49280
      • 3GC
      • 23 May 2012

      rcl4444, 22 May 2012That's the problem here - GSMA have themsleves reported tha... moreBaffles the hell out of me whey soooooo many people are making such a big thing about minute differences in the speeds of these devices that will barely show up in day-to-day use of any of them.ALL of them will be lightning fast and will do exactly what they have to with ease,so what if the One X opens web pages 0.4 second quicker than the GS3 does.Don't forget these are benchmark tests carried out purely to give a yardstick to compare them to each other,maybe it would be better to wait until they come out and have been used by actual people in everyday life to judge them for what they are.

      And again why are so many people getting hung up on what the case is made of without having even picked one up in real life? Or more to the point what Samsung call the material it's made from,polycarbonate IS plastic.
      "A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids that are moldable. Plastics are typically organic polymers of high molecular mass, but they often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals, but many are partially natural.[1]"

        • b
        • blueglue
        • PTi
        • 23 May 2012

        AnonD-23828, 22 May 2012Why is mivroSIM disadvantage?Because most of the carriers donot manufacture a Micro SIM. and models with micro sim need a separate holder to insert/remove comfortably.

          • D
          • AnonD-252
          • J5M
          • 23 May 2012

          AnonD-55886, 22 May 2012Was really excited about this new phone, but the Audio qual... moreThe Audio-quality will be perfect thanks to the drivers "Voodoo Sound" from Google Play by Supercurio!
          The backpanel IS strong polycarbonate, NOT plastic!
          Polycarbonate is to "plastic", as Gorilla Glass is to glass!

            • D
            • AnonD-55371
            • 8Ba
            • 23 May 2012

            AnonD-55342, 22 May 2012"Samsung has come up with the name “Hyperglaze” for th... more... and for this reason PA put 9,4 over 10 as vote to the S3, best mark ever for a smarthphone.

              • K
              • Karengamai
              • N7D
              • 22 May 2012

              When is the beast landing in Kenya?

                • D
                • AnonD-55886
                • nGp
                • 22 May 2012

                Was really excited about this new phone, but the Audio quality still isn't as good as my existing 64GB iPhone 4S, I use it as my main MP3 player on the train etc, i remember seeing the Galaxy S2 and the screens colours are just really fake looking, artificial on pictures with people in them, cant wait to see the comparisons between this S3 and iPhone 4S on further GSM Arena Tests

                  • m
                  • m86k
                  • m86
                  • 22 May 2012

                  rcl4444, 22 May 2012That's the problem here - GSMA have themsleves reported tha... moreMeizu phones are reserved to China.

                  If GSMA wanted to say the fastest phone, they would have said it. It's just a nickname to show what it represents among smartphones: classy and powerful.

                    • r
                    • rcl4444
                    • P%n
                    • 22 May 2012

                    Anonymous, 22 May 2012Bugatti in terms of speed buddy... it's the fastest car on ... moreThat's the problem here - GSMA have themsleves reported that SGS3 is NOT the fastest phone:

                    http://blog.gsmarena.com/meizu-mx-quad-core-posts-amazing-benchmark-result-beats-the-samsung-galaxy-s-iii/

                      • r
                      • rcl4444
                      • P%n
                      • 22 May 2012

                      blueglue, 22 May 2012Good questions, let me try to share my views. - Consider... moreHey - thanks for your comments. Great feedback.

                      I get the point about guy in 10th position, and agree that an overall/average score can come out on top even without winning in all (or any) categories, and is worth being recognized if not well commended. However, claiming "the Galaxy S III has such a comfortable lead that Samsung may as well ease off the gas and let others catch up..." is saying this is a clear leader, not one decided on best averages.

                      When you read the "spared no effort to protect the Galaxy S III against any odds" in context with "Bugatti Veyron of smartphones" and "the most amazing blend of performance and features we are likely to see this year" the against all odds isn't likely referring to patent infringements, more like against all comers.

                      The point is we shouldn't have to accept/get used to a plastic cover - Kevlar would have been possible, and fantastic!

                      Yes opinions often change with time, better understanding and more knowledge. GSMA suggest their opinions changed as they used the SGS3 more. I hope that myself (and many others) feel the same once we get to... erm... test drive one in the flesh. :-)

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • Pxa
                        • 22 May 2012

                        AnonD-14560, 22 May 2012"The Bugatti Veyron of smartphones" ??? Are you k... moreBugatti in terms of speed buddy... it's the fastest car on earth and this once is the fastest phone at present... Yes, aggred, the design isnt that great at all to talk about but when it comes to performance, nothing can beat this monster...

                          • D
                          • AnonD-23828
                          • mMF
                          • 22 May 2012

                          Why is mivroSIM disadvantage?

                            • D
                            • AnonD-55862
                            • H8C
                            • 22 May 2012

                            Dear GSM Arena, after Samsung official answer about material of the GS III cover i will give another awesome score for this because Polycarbonat is not simple Plastic, it's something like Kevlar!! GS III is the Android flagship of 2012 , no doubt!

                            Bugatty Veyron = Fastest Smartphone

                              • D
                              • AnonD-14560
                              • Khs
                              • 22 May 2012

                              "The Bugatti Veyron of smartphones" ??? Are you kidding me? This phone look like an old cheap bicycle not luxury Bugatti. Oh no, the specs seem like Bugatti though.

                              Samsung, they better fire their designer, to made Bugatti look like a stupid bicycle.

                                • M
                                • Mansoor
                                • Svq
                                • 22 May 2012

                                Can the songs be played using "Play via Radio" (FM) like in Nokia N8?

                                  • L
                                  • Lords
                                  • Pxa
                                  • 22 May 2012

                                  People come to this site to read review’s because they trust GSMArena and hence for the people who say this phone is crap, this is what the Final Words of GSMArnena is
                                  “When Samsung announced the Galaxy S III, they saw to it that their top smartphone matched - at the very least - the best on the market. And because no effort was too much in insuring against any surprises, they ended up with something that's nearly impossible to beat. Love it or hate it, the S III is one of the top phones on the market and will stay so for quite a while. In the end though, it seems the Galaxy S III has such a comfortable lead that Samsung may as well ease off the gas and let others catch up. Once again, the bar's been raised quite high and yet another Galaxy S is setting the standards - not only for Android but smartphones as a whole.”
                                  In case if you’ve missed out before… so if you don’t trust their reviews there’s no point coming hear posting comments since you’re too blind to actually judge a smartphone by looks. And if you really prefer looks over performance, then you should go for Vertu or some other heavy expensive phones. They definitely look better than this one and most other smartphones available. Otherwise, don’t pass on a statement only because you’re blindly in love with your present smartphone manufacturer and refused to see the fact.
                                  GSMArena also did an article on HOX vs SGS3 (alien vs predator) and the results were in favor of SGS3 but still some people come here and say something that makes no sense out of their edginess.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 7qx
                                    • 22 May 2012

                                    I have a very bad experience with samsung phones. My first phone was Samsung in 2002. And i have 5 phones then, all samsung, hoping that they will improve. But they did not. My 3 phones died of circuit related problem. And the two had battery, charger and ear phone problems. Samsung sucks.

                                      • b
                                      • blueglue
                                      • 9xR
                                      • 22 May 2012

                                      rcl4444, 22 May 2012Thank you GSMArena. I agree with many here - a very thorou... moreGood questions, let me try to share my views.

                                      - Consider an example of students' marks sheet. Guy in the Top may not be top in all subjects. at times some one in poition 10 has outpaced the topper in a particular subject.Now, is'nt it worth mentioning about the guy in postion 10? Hope you got my intentions with this example.

                                      "Samsung have spared no effort to protect the Galaxy S III against any odds"
                                      - I understood it in another way, GSM is trying to convey that Samsung kept GS3 manufactured it very keenly and tried to keep it out of all possible patent infringements. i may be wrong.

                                      - Glossy Finish - Personally, if it is similar to GS1, i can live with it. Kevlar would have been a good choice though. Just my opinions.

                                      You do comment that "However, once we held the device in our hands, we realized that the Samsung I9300 design is actually not too bad" so we have to accept that your views have changed with time.

                                      - Yes, opinions do CHANGE with TIME (along with other influencing factors), well this is a general opinion, not aimed to support/deny your statement.

                                        • b
                                        • blueglue
                                        • 9xR
                                        • 22 May 2012

                                        rcl4444, 22 May 2012GSMArena weren't quick to talk about the lag issues on SGS1... moreAgree, Gsm is not the first to speak about the Death grip of iphone.

                                        as far as i know GSMarena tries to sell the positive aspects in a phone.