The Samsung Galaxy S3 is, according
to Samsung anyway, 'inspired by nature – it sees, listens, responds, and allows
you to share the greatest moments'.
While
this is all a little hyperbolic, the nature theme is certainly present when you
handle the phone for the first time.
Brushed
polycarbonate – you've got a choice of 'Marble White' and 'Pebble Blue' –
adorns the large device, which runs in with dimensions of 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6mm,
despite still having to pack in a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD screen
We'll
lay it out right now: the plastic feeling of the Galaxy S3 won't appeal to all.
It feels very lightweight (despite tipping the scales at 133g) in the hand, and
some people will read this as feeling a little cheap.
However,
it's exactly the same sensation as we found on the Galaxy S2, and given the
silly numbers of sales that had, we think there's more than a market for a
phone that you'll barely notice in your pocket most of the time.
But
we'll be very clear on this - the Galaxy S3 is not a cheap-feeling phone. It's
got a really solid Gorilla Glass 2 front, a well-packaged interior and a more
robust battery cover. It's polycarbonate rather than bog-standard plastic,
although we're not sure some people will like the more rounded nature of the
design.
However,
despite being made of similar material, there's no doubt that the One X feels
more premium in the hand thanks to being a touch more weighty… there's
something about something so large being so light that some will find
disconcerting.
Amendment: the
HTC One X is actually 3g lighter than the S3, but despite carrying both around
at once, the S3 still felt lighter, which shows the way texture can affect the
way a phone feels in the hand.
There's
no doubt in our minds that the Pebble Blue offering is the much more attractive
option, as the Marble White looks similar to a low-end Galaxy Mini or similar –
the brushed effect is really necessary.
Compared
to rest of the Galaxy line, the S3 has more in common with the original Galaxy
S than the S2, with curved edges the theme in the design language. The home
button has also been elongated, although the same menu and back buttons remain
from the prequel.
Overall,
the effect is much more like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus than anything else –
rounded edges, HD screen but with a more minimal bezel to really accentuate the
larger screen in the hand.
The
button design around the phone has been well thought out in our opinion - for a
phone this big it's very difficult to make all the keys accessible, so putting
the lock button on the right-hand side rather than the top makes a large degree
of sense.
The
addition of the lozenge-shaped home button, and its softkey 'Back' and 'Menu'
buttons are great additions in our eyes, as it means contextual menus can be
found easily without needing to mess around looking for the on-screen icon.
The
volume up and down button is parallel to the lock key on the left-hand side of
the phone, and also within easy reach when holding the Galaxy S3 in the hand.
The
microUSB slot is placed at the bottom of the phone - easy to find with a
charger but it will be interesting to see how it's used when placed in docks
and car cradles
The battery
cover is also made of the same polycarbonate material as the rest of the body.
Yes, you read that right - the battery cover is removable!
This
means that not only can switch the battery in and out - a key consideration for
many people - there's also a cheeky surprise in the shape of a microSD slot
next to the microSIM port. Expandable memory? This just gets better and better.
This
means that theoretically you'll be able to have a 128GB-capacity Samsung Galaxy
S3 if you combine the top spec of internal memory (64GB) with the largest
microSD card around at the moment (64GB)... making it a mouth-watering prospect
for those that love a spot of media.
Sure,
there are stats that say only 10% of users regularly go over 16GB of storage,
but there's always the lower end version of the Galaxy S3 for that... but with
HD movie downloads becoming far more prevalent, plus the influx of HD apps,
we're thinking more space is an excellent idea.
But
overall, in the hand, the Samsung Galaxy S3 feels superb. The design contours
well against the palm, and while the screen size may be a little big for some
(you'll need a bit of shuffling to reach the upper section of the screen) it's
definitely useable in the hand.
