Galaxy S3 great features

The 4.8in device is one of the most highly anticipated Android devices of 2012. We go through the top five features of the Galaxy S3 

The successor to the phenomenally popular Galaxy S2 handset has enhanced specifications, an upgraded OS and introduces unique gesture-based features.

The S3 ships with a 4.8in Super AMOLED HD display and is powered by Samsung's own 1.4GHz Exynos quad-core processor. The device also includes 1GB of RAM, is available with 16/32/64GB of internal storage and supports an additional 64GB via the microSD slot.

We’ve whittled down our favourite features of the Android Ice Cream Sandwich handset 

BEST

5. Gestures which work

Gestures have been introduced on a number of Android handsets, including the preceding Galaxy S2, but they have been inconsistent and fiddly.

Samsung has heavily promoted the gesture set on the S3, so the firm would have been left red-faced if they didn't perform.

Out of the numerous features, Smart Stay, Direct Call, Palm Sweep and Turnover are our favourites and will be the most useful to business users. Although they are not perfect, we have used them regularly.

Smart Stay is a feature which uses the 1.9-megapixel front facing camera to track your eyes. When the phone detects you have looked away from the device, it will dim the display and switch off (depending on length of screen time out), but as long as you maintain eye contact, it will continue at full brightness.

This is particularly useful if you put the device down for a couple of seconds. The display may dim, but once you pick it up it will brighten up. This is handy as it means the device will not dim when you are reading web pages, but we did find it to be inconsistent in low light.

Direct call is simpler, but just as effective. When you are viewing or writing a text message, browsing a contact or checking a missed call, the phone will call the person if you raise the device to your ear. The system isn’t perfect and we found it to be inconsistent when you are typing message. However, when we were viewing a message, it worked everytime and saved a couple of clicks.

Raise the phone to your ear when a contact is on screen to call them

Palm Sweep helps to simplify the process of taking screen shots. These have always been fiddly on Android phones – requiring users to simultaneously hold volume and lock buttons down.

To take a screen grab on the S3 you use the edge of your hand and swipe from the right hand edge to left edge (more examples of these later on). This is quick and particularly useful when using apps such as Docs to Go as you can take screen grabs of important pictures or documents.

It is also possible to capture screen grabs of internet web pages too, but these can be tricky as it is easy to scroll down by accident. We also found you have to be viewing the webpage in “desktop mode” and it is only possible to take screen grabs in portrait mode.

Turnover is another simple idea which will be useful for business user who forget to turn their devices to silent when entering meetings. If the phone rings, you turn it over to mute it instantly and avoid disruption.

Turnover is the easiest gesture-feature to use and the most consistent

4. 50GB of Dropbox and expansion

Most high-end smartphones on the market, such as the iPhone 4S and HTC One X, offer some form of cloud-based storage. With the iPhone 4S Apple offers 5GB of storage with its iCloud and HTC offers 25GB of Dropbox space for two years with its One range of devices.

However, Samsung has trumped them both by offering a mammoth 50GB of storage space for two years. Although business users are unlikely to want to store confidential information in their Dropbox account, it is an invaluable resource for saving documents, pictures, videos and music.

Not only does Samsung top its rival when it comes to cloud-based storage, the S3 is the most expandable high-end device on the market.

Samsung allows users to remove the back cover to gain access to the battery and add in a micro-SD card of up to 64GB in size. This essentially turns the device into a sizeable hard disk and is great for business users as they can invest in a spare battery.

3. Unrivalled performance

The S3 is the quickest and most responsive smartphone we've tested. Samsung has manufactured its own Exynos 1.4GHz quad-core processor using a 32nm process to improve efficiency. The firm has also added in 1GB of RAM.

Opening and switching between apps is lag free. The device also comes with a Pop up play feature, which allows users to carry on watching a video and use other applications such as messages. This is an excellent feature and allows PC-like multitasking as opposed to just “app switching”.

The S3 is capable of PC-like multitasking when it comes to watching videos

The high performance of the S3 is backed up by benchmarking. Using the Geekbench app, which measures devices based on processor speed and memory, the S3 scored an average of 1387. This is considerably higher than the HTC One X (709) and over double the 626 for the iPhone 4S.

2. Battery

Samsung has nailed a key feature with the inclusion of the mammoth 2100mAh battery, and has managed to keep the handset weight down to 133g.

The S3 coped admirably with the enormous demands placed on it by the Super AMOLED HD display and quad core processor. We had high expectations that the handset would be the first smartphone to break the 12-hour barrier in our real-world usage test, and it did not disappoint.

During the test, corporate email, Gmail and Twitter accounts were set to push content throughout the day and we also carried out a range of tasks including web browsing and watching a 40 minute video. Brightness was cranked up to the maximum level, Wi-Fi remained off and battery saver was turned off.

The S3 powered through the entire 12 hour day and still had 27 per cent of the battery remaining. The screen was responsible for 52 per cent of the battery drain, mobile standby took up 19 per cent, voice calls 9 per cent and the Android OS 7 per cent.

With the ability to turn on a multitude of power saving options, it is possible to strength the battery life well beyond the 12 hour mark.

The 2100mAh battery helped the S3 power through the day and is one of the longest lasting we have ever tested

1. Screen

The Super AMOLED HD display with 1280 x 720 resolution is the best hardware feature. At 4.8in, it’s big, but not overkill like theGalaxy Note (5.3in). So, you can still hold it to your ear without feeling embarrassed.

On paper the display 306ppi pixel density may not match the iPhone 4S (326ppi), but this is irrelevant. The S3 renders colours superbly – replicating shades which will make your eyes water. It’s great for watching HD movies and videos from YouTube, but equally for viewing PDFs, word documents and emails, because the text is razor sharp.

The 'Standard' mode displays saturated colours and may not suit everyone

'Natural' mode is much easier on the eye, especially if you look at a display throughout the day

Samsung has even built in a control for users who don’t like oversaturated colours. The ‘natural’ pre-set tones alters the colour temperature and contrast. We found this setting to be easy on the eye on the commute home, after a long day of using screens.