Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III review: S to the third

Controls and battery life

Below the display you get the same three keys as on the international version of the Galaxy S II - capacitive Menu and Back buttons and a regular press Home key.

The three key combo under the screen

The usual extra functionality upon a long press is enabled - the Menu key handles Google search on the device, while the Home key brings up the task switcher. And if you click the home key twice the voice control kicks in.

Above the display we have the earpiece, as well as ambient light and proximity sensors. There's also a 2 megapixel front-facing camera for video-calls and a status LED up there.

There's quite a lot going on around the earpiece

The left side of the Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III features the volume rocker.

The volume rocker sits on the left

Unfortunately, all there is on the right is the power key. Once again Samsung is releasing its flagship droid without a dedicated camera key.

There's no camera key on the right

The top of the Galaxy S III hosts the 3.5mm audio jack and one of the microphones.

The secondary microphone is alongside the 3.5mm audio jack on top

The microUSB port at the bottom is used for both data connections and charging. Not only does it support USB host but it also comes with MHL, enabling HD TV-out connectivity. You'll have to purchase an adapter to use that extra functionality, though. The other thing of interest here is the mouthpiece.

The main mic is next to the MHL-enabled microUSB port

The back of the Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III is where the 8 megapixel FullHD-capable camera lens is located. It's flanked by an LED flash and the loudspeaker grille.

The 8 megapixel camera lens is flanked by the LED flash and the loudspeaker grille

Removing the paper thin battery cover reveals the microSIM slot, the solid 2100 mAh battery and the microSD card slot.

Taking a peek under the hood

As we managed to confirm, the humongous battery does a pretty decent job of keeping the Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III going. The smartphone got the excellent overall endurance rating of 43h in our battery test, posting some pretty impressive scores in the process. You can find the detailed test here, while more information about how we test is available over here.

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III battery life test results

Overall, we'd give excellent marks to the Galaxy S III on the build quality and perhaps a B+ on looks. The exceptional screen is the real star of the show though, no doubt about that.

The Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III handles as well as its predecessor