- Samsung unveiled latest flagship smartphone at Apple-style launch party in London
- Eye-tracking and voice-control revealed as key new features
- Owners get 4.8" screen, quad-core processor, NFC payments, voice control and face-recognition
- Wireless charging kit removes the clutter of wires
- Mail Online verdict: 'Samsung has raised the stakes here - and Apple will have to do something truly special to beat this'
By Rob Waugh and Eddie Wrenn
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Samsung last night unveiled its latest flagship device, the Galaxy S3, the follow-up to last year's best-selling phone in the world.
The smartphone market moves on once more, with the hi-tech voice-controlled Galaxy S3 likely to becomes a standard-bearer for Google’s Android operating system - and a device for the Apple refuseniks.
The phone’s most innovative feature is built-in face-tracking and voice control - allowing, Samsung claims, for a more 'natural' control system.
Other innovations include what Samsung claims is a 'more intelligent' lock system, that keeps the screen 'awake' when the phone’s camera senses eyes watching it, rather than turning it off.
Blue and white: The Samsung S3 launches at the end of May, available in 'pebble blue' and 'marble white'
The voice control system is called S Voice - and allows access to weather forecasts, web searches and scheduling, similar to iPhone’s Siri system.
Saying 'I want to take a picture' launches the camera application - and will work in eight languages at launch.
S Voice can also reply out loud - which Samsung claims will allow the system to be used while driving.
Available in blue and white, the phone will be launched at the end of May, starting in Europe, with other regions following.
Samsung played on its expertise in screens with a large 4.8-inch Super AMOLED screen running a resolution of 1280 x 720p - far bigger than Apple’s iPhone, and close in size to the smaller end of the tablet market.
Ready for launch: A still from Samsung's presentation reveals the S3 for the first time
Enlarge Â
Samsung Galaxy S3
Screen size:
4.8 inch
Processor:
1.4 Ghz quad-core
Memory size:
Up to 32gb (+64gb with card)
Operating system:
Android Ice Cream Sandwich
Camera:
Eight megapixel
Weight:
133grams
Dimensions:
Height - 136mm
Width - 70mm
Depth - 8.5mm
Battery:
2100mAh
HTC One X
Screen size:
4.7 inch
Processor:
1.5Ghz quad-core
Memory size:
32GB (non-expandable)
Operating system:
Android Ice Cream Sandwich
Camera:
Eight megapixel
Weight:
130grams
Dimensions:
Height - 134mm
Width - 69mm
Depth - 8.9mm
Battery:
1800mAh
iPhone 4s
Screen size:
3.5 inch
Processor:
800 MHz dual-core
Memory size:
Up to 64gb (non-expandable)
Operating system:
iOS
Camera:
Eight megapixel
Weight:
140grams
Dimensions:
Height - 115mm
Width - 58mm
Depth - 9mm
Battery:
1432mAh
The S3 is powered by a quad-core processor - similar to the ones found in many laptops, and far more powerful than the dual core found in the iPhone.
The phone also includes an NFC chip - near-field-communications - allowing users to share content such as video by tapping phones together.
And if you are sick of wires, a separate wireless charging kit means you can charge your phone without hooking it up to the socket.
Live audience: Hundreds of people packed into the Earls Court auditorium to see the launch of the phone
'THE BEST PHONE IN THE WORLD? VERY PROBABLY'
Mail Online science editor Rob Waugh gets hands-on with the S3:
The screen isn’t quite the match of some Android rivals such as Sony’s new Xperia S, but on every other count, this is a uniquely desirable device - and likely to set the pace for Apple’s next iPhone.
The speed of the quad-core processor is detectable in every app, with the new version of Android giving everything a satisfyingly sci-fi 'Tron'-like feel, and the screen is absolutely huge - with the extra space particularly useful when panning through photos with a fingertip.
It is also not massively bigger than its predecessor the S2, despite the vast screen - although anyone switching from an iPhone will definitely notice the difference.
This blurs the line between phones and tablets - and pulls off the feat with verve.
It's also packed with hidden treats - tapping two phones to trade videos between them at 300mbps is probably no more than a novelty, but it's a good one.
Burst shoot outperforms a lot of dedicated digital cameras, with a held-down finger rattling out a machine-gun sequence of 20 pictures per second, then instantly picking the best using face detection.
The auto-call function’s another 'why hasn’t anyone done this' winner - if you’re looking at a text, for instance, then pick up the phone, it automatically calls the person who texted you.
It's smart - and it works.
Voice control, as ever, is a bit more take-it-or-leave-it - although it’s unfair to judge S Voice from a crowded and noisy convention centre.
It did at least bring up a weather forecast - but trying to persuade it to take a photo was far more difficult.
Overall, this is a gorgeous handset that’s likely to put more momentum behind Google’s Android.
Samsung has raised the stakes here - and Apple will have to do som ething truly special to beat this.
Samsung pointed out that while the screen is 22 per cent larger than the previous S2, the 'bezel' around it has been slimmed down, so that the gadget is barely bigger than its predecessor.
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The gadget will launch on May 29 in Europe, and in 10 other cities worldwide including Tokyo and Dubai.
The gadget also has some features clearly aimed at the business market once dominated by BlackBerry.
On-device encryption will allow secure emails working within business networks - catering for the new trend for businesses allowing employees to 'bring their own' smartphones rather than using company phones.
The NFC chip will also be used for tap-to-pay mobile payments, in partnership with Visa, with a 'virtual wallet' on the device making payment simple.
The phone is also armed with a battery claimed to last longer than other devices - despite a form factor which is 8.6mm thin and 130g in weight.
The phone has an eight megapixel camera - on a par with both iPhone 4S and the previous Galaxy S2.
The device was presented by Samsung president JK Shin, who said: 'There were a lot of rumours and speculation - some were right, and some were wrong.
'The Galaxy S3 is the best-in-class smartphone in the world.'
The phone was shown off by The Gadget Show’s Suzi Perry at a high-profile event at London's Earls Court exhibition centre - a large, clearly expensive stage show that had a distinct resemblance to Apple’s well-choreographed showings for new iPhones and iPads.
'This is the biggest launch event of the year,' said Perry.
Samsung is also to launch a range of pop-up shops which will show off the handset around Europe - announcing this in a way reminiscent of Steve Job's traditional, 'One last thing,' at their product launches.
A new feature called ‘Pop up Play’ enables multitasking - so that you can, for instance, put a video in a window on screen, then use other apps with the rest of the screen.
This sort of feature was previously the province of Windows or Mac machines, rather than phones.
Competition: The iPhone 4S and HTC One series are also premium models with high brand loyalty
The camera can also burst-shoot at speeds of up to 20 frames per second - faster than many pro-grade cameras.
The camera also automatically zooms in on faces by double-tapping the screen and a ‘best-shot’ mode auto-selects the best out of the burst.
Enlarge Â
Some of the apps pre-installed on the S3
The phone’s front camera can also shoot in HD - still rare in smartphones - and take still images at the same time.
Sharing photos with friends is also speeded up by face-recognition technology - which offers to 'share' photos with any friends detected in a photo using hi-tech face recognition, sharing either by text message or email, with a bubble popping up over each person's face with the option to send the photo to them.
The S2 is expected to cost around £35-£40 per month. Carphone Warehouse said their tariffs would start for £36 on a 24-month contract.
The S3 also contains voice controls - which brings it up to speed with the iPhone's Siri - but users may be wondering if it will be another damp squib.
Despite the fun of Apple's Siri, most users prefer traditional controls over speaking to their phone, and the feature which launched the iPhone 4s is not used by many users.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 will be heavily promoted with a worldwide advertising campaign starting this week.
Samsung is now the biggest phone manufacturer in the world, and for this launch they took a page out of Apple's marketing guide and kept everything hush-hush.
Even Samsung's invite to journalists and enthusiasts for the launch in Earl's Court, London, played it quiet - simply inviting people to 'come and meet the next Galaxy'.
The stylus-equipped Galaxy Note was a hit for Samsung, proving there is a market for devices with five-inch screens
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i didn't think that I was going to write about this, but in my stage of life, I like things which works - Apple all the way.
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it's like carrying a mini notebook in your pocket, which is cool but it makes you look like an idiot! Oh well, time to invest in a manbag...
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Apple crumble. Sorry
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Ha do love the fact that people always think Companies copy the iphone. The samsung phones have for the last few years come out with a better spec than the Iphones before the iphones and apple have been continually on catch up with them. Its great there is so much competition out there which is good for the consumer but in my opinion the samsung wins hands down.
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Sheeesh, after all that hype, what a disappointment. OK it sort of matches the best of what others are offering (e.g. screen size, lets hope they don't get any bigger though) and personally the 8mp camera is of little consequence as I use a LUMIX to take "proper" photos, for choice. On the other hand, using only a few apps, robustness and practicality are the main considerations given the monthly contract cost - so issues like battery life and pocketability and scratch-proofing are more major issues for me. Having never owned an i-phone I find myself thinking that when version 5 comes out I will likely take the plunge. I will try the S3 though in the colder light of day now this overhyped honeymoon is over, to get a proper feel of it. But my immediate reaction is that I think I will wait for the next i-phone to come out ...
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I will stick to my iphone for many reasons
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It's just too big. I'm all for high resolution screens and the latest technology, but I also want a phone that fits in my pocket and is comfortable to hold.
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Still using my I[hone 3GS best there is.....All the rest is just hype, The Iphone does what it says on the box?....it works flawless every time.
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I remember over 2 years ago when I bought my Samsung Moment, was supposed to be the best new phone and worked well for a year. I started having lag and glitches, took it in and they said I had a virus and set to factory settings. It was a little better when I got it back, now the lag is awful, just to make a phone call is slow, everything is slow. I have been reading where people are having similar problems. One person said something that made sense, the processor in the phone can't handle the upgrades, and he even deleted all his apps and still had a very slow phone. I not liking the idea of Google tracking every persons life was thinking of the iphone, and when I read the iphone 3G users are still using their phones without problems, makes me lean more to the iphone for my upgrade.
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Its just ugly though. Apple for the win!!
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