Samsung flew us to Sydney and gave us the brand new Samsung Galaxy S III to play with. It’s already being touted as the best Android phone out there (along with the HTC One X), but is it enough to make Apple-addicted Bangkokians switch allegiances? Read our hands-on review and find out.
Plugged:
• The 4.8-inch screen feels a lot bigger than the previous model (the Galaxy S II screen is 4.3 inches). For reference, the iPhone is a measly 3.5-inches while the Samsung Note, practically a tablet, is not too far off at 5.3 inches.
• By stretching the screen vertically, the phone hasn’t gotten bigger, though. Its thin and light body feels just right in your pocket.
• The sound system through the speaker is impressive and we love the notifications inspired by natural sounds, like water drops.
• Both cameras feature a zero-lag shutter speed and HD video recording. And we know many of you will love the self-shooting function triggered by saying “cheese” or “capture.”
• Transitions of functions and applications are smooth and flawless, thanks to the quad-core processor.
Bugged:
• The S-Voice system doesn’t work that well in noisy conditions. Then again, if you already have Apple’s Siri, you know she’s pretty useless in Bangkok, too.
• The cameras on the HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy S III and iPhone 4s are technically identical. But we think the iPhone 4s’ handling of low-light noise still comes out on top.
• It’s a pretty big phone.
Verdict: This is the best Android phone overall in the market to date. Versus the iPhone 4s, the larger screen may not be reason alone to switch allegiances, but iPhone 4 users who were holding out for the iPhone 5 will be very tempted.
Price: B21,900, two colors available: pebble blue and pearl white
Specs: 4.8-inch Super AMOLED multi-touch screen (1,280 x 720 pixels), quad-core 1.4GHz processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 8MP camera with flash and 1.9MP front camera. 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm, 133 grams.