MOBILE AND INTERNET: samsung GALAXY

SAMSUNG GALAXY

PHONE OF INNOVATON

The pink Samsung Galaxy S3 in now available for purchase in Korea

his new model was announced last week and is the seventh color for the Galaxy S3, which will also available in Marble White, Pebble Blue, Amber Brown, Garnet Red, Sapphire Black, and Titanium Grey.

The Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean source code was released by Samsung last week.

The company released it for the unlocked international version of the Galaxy S3, as the official update to the software is expected to roll out sometime next month.

The source code was found in Samsung's OpenSource website. The code's release does not mean that the Galaxy S3 will be able to run a stable version of the software.

However, it does mean that Samsung is giving developers a chance to create a Jelly Bean ROM of the highest quality for the smartphone. This would mean that is more stable and better than what has already surfaced on the internet
The rest of the Samsung Galaxy S3 colors should be arriving in the near future as Samsung released new photos showing them off earlier this month.

The Galaxy S3 launched in White and Pebble Blue, so the addition of the four new colors should boost the company's sales significantly. And with the unveiling of the iPhone 5, Samsung will need something to keep fans interested in what has been one of the most popular smartphones to be released this year.

"By expanding the color range of the Samsung Galaxy S3, we are continuing to evolve the minimal organic design theme of the handset," said Minhyouk Lee, Vice-President and lead designer of Samsung Galaxy S3.

These new photos feature a front and back shot of the additional colors. The Sapphire Black model

The first impression I came away with was not that the screen was the best on the market, although it has a depth, responsiveness and sharpness that bests, to my mind the HTC One X, although I wasn’t able to compare the two directly. Nor that the huge 4.8” screen was too big, although it’s heading that way. The compelling thing about the S3 is the package it offers. Like the iPhone 4S after the 4, it offers iterative improvements over its predecessor, but the total effect is to create a radically innovative new device.

In among those things is a new sensor that tracks your eyes – so long as you’re looking at the S3’s screen, it won’t dim or lock itself. Yes, you could just set the screen timer to longer, but “Smart Stay” means you don’t have to. In use, the feature seemed to work very well, with a little icon indicating the phone is watching your eyes.

On a similar note, if you’re looking at a contact, or a message from a contact, the S3 automatically dials that person when you put the phone to your face. It’s one less button to press.

An improvement to voice control, called S-Voice, that lets users control their phone using normal, natural language. So it’s like Siri, only it does more – you can say volume up, for instance, and the phone will filter out the noise of the song it’s playing so it can hear you. The S, we assume, stands for Samsung.

Elsewhere, the phone adds useful features that, for instance, can automatically share a photograph you take with people whose faces are recognised, called 'Buddy Photo Share', or display social media profiles directly on a photograph when those face are recognised. These are features that are useful rather than revolutionary, but they feel like they will be obvious standards in the near future. Tagging groups and offering an automatic slideshow zooming into the faces in a picture are also useful additions. Samsung, unless the patent wars cause further upset, is setting new standards.

When it comes to features such as S-Beam, which transfers files quickly between devices by touching them together, or sharing the phone’s screen content with other devices, these are increasingly becoming more widespread industry standards, as indicated on the new Motorola Razr, which offers similar concepts. The Samsung processor is fast enough to allow crystal clear video to play in a window on your homescreens, which again is nifty, but not vital.

Are there areas where the phone disappoints? The camera is just 8MP – good, but not market leading – although it has been upgraded to offer a 20-shot burst mode and the automatic selection of a best picture. The firm insists on pre-loading apps which I don’t see much use for – while Dropbox (including a remarkable 50GB of storage for two years) and Flipboard are useful, the Music, Game and Video Hubs will have to offer remarkable content to outplay the entirety of the app store, Google Play.

I didn’t get long enough with the phone to talk about the battery life – a 2,100mAh battery is big, but this is a demanding phone that users will have on more than ever before, not only thanks to the screen that stays on because you’re looking at it. Samsung assures me that the performance will be better than the SII; it needs to be much better. It’s good to see, however, that one of the range of optional accessories will be wireless charging, via a special back and charging pad ideal for the bedside table.

Overall, the device is in many ways much like its predecessor: does it feel as solid or heavy in the hand as the iPhone? No, although it’s certainly a lot bigger. Is it a different, superb product in its own right? Absolutely. On spending just a short time with the S3, I’m confident in saying that it’s a worthy successor to the globally popular S2. But I also want to see how much all those new features make a real difference in everyday use to form a fuller opinion.

Specifications:

Screen:
4.8” Super Amoled HD display
Storage:
16/32/64GB depending on model, plus expandable MicroSD card
Cloud storage:
50GB Dropbox for two years
Colour:
Pebble blue or marble white
Battery:
2,100mAh (wireless charging optional extra)
Camera:
8MP rear; 1.9 MP front
Resolution:
720 x 1280 px (306ppi)
RAM:
1GB
Dimensions:
136.6 x 70.6 x 8.55 mm
Weight:
133g
Operating System:
Android 4.0.4
Processor:

Exynos 4 Quad (1.4GHz)Samsung announced their latest budget Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Ace back in January, and we have just been testing the Galaxy Ace for the last week.
The Samsung Galaxy Ace comes with Android 2.2 Froyo, and it has just recently gone on sale in the UK, it comes with a range of features you would expect too see in a more expensive smartphone.

Specifications

As I mentioned previously, the Samsung Galaxy Ace comes with Android 2.2 Froyo out of the box, hardware wise you get 3.5 inch capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels.

Processing is provided by an 800MHz processor, and there is also a five megapixel camera with 2x digital zoom and an LED flash, plus a range of shooting modes and photo effects.
You also get a built in FM Radio, Bluetooth 2.1, integrated 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, plus a microSD card slot, the model we tested came with a 2GB microSD card but it can take up to 32GB microSD cards.
The Samsung Galaxy Ace features 1350mAh battery, and the manufacturers specifications say that you will get up to 660 minutes of talk time on 2G, 390 minutes on 3G, plus up to 640 hours of standby time on 2G and 420 hours on 3G.

Design, Display and UI

The Samsung Galaxy Ace is designed to be a budget Android device, although it does feel very well made, maybe not as high as the Samsung Galaxy S, but it certainly feels better quality than the Samsung Galaxy Europa we tested recently.
The display is sharp and crisp and the design is excellent and it certainly feels very well made, and could quite easily be mistaken for a more expensive smartphone.
It comes with a pair of interchangeable covers, one black and one white, the black one features a rubberized texture which makes the phone easy to hold, whilst the white cover is smooth, and feels a bit more like plastic than the black one.

Camera

The camera on the Samsung Galaxy Ace is a five megapixel version, it also features two times digital zoom, and it is capable or recording video in a 320 x 240 resolution, no HD here unfortunately, and this is one of the cameras week points, the video recording isn’t the best, but I suppose this can be forgiven for the price.
The camera on the Galaxy Ace is pretty good , it does a good job at capturing pretty decent photos and it has a range of features built in which include autofocus, a range of shooting modes which include continuous and panorama plus a range of photo effects.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy Ace is designed to be a budget Android smartphone, and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised with it, as it has a range of features that you would expect in a more expensive Android device.

It definitely feels a lot better quality that some of the other budget Android devices we have tested, and feels very well built, the display is sharp and crisp and the touchscreen is responsive.
The camera is decent, it will do a good jobs on photos, video is another matter and if you are the sort of person who uses your smartphone for recording a lot of videos you may want to consider something else.
Overall we really liked the Samsung Galaxy Ace, for the money it is an excellent budget smartphone, very well made and very well designed, if you are in the market for a budget Android device, I would definitely recommend you add the Samsung Galaxy Ace to your list of devices to check out.
The Samsung Galaxy Ace is available in the UK from a range of mobile operators, the model we tested was from mobile network Three, who are currently offering the Galaxy Ace for £199.99 on pay as you go and also with a range of their monthly contracts.
Make sure you check out our Samsung Galaxy Ace gallery below for lots more photos of this budget Android smartphone.