We got in a Galaxy S3 a little early, so we thought we’d open the floor to anyone who wanted to ask a question about the S3 – whether about Samsung Galaxy S III accessories, comparisons to other Android phones like the One X and Galaxy Nexus, or specific questions about the phone’s hardware and software.
We’re continuing to answer your questions over Twitter, Facebook, the Mobile Fun Blog, XDA Developers and Reddit.
Here’s what’s been answered so far.
Camera
How long does it take from the lockscreen to the first shot?
It takes about three seconds with practice – the camera app launches in about 1 second from the lock screen, with most time spent dragging the camera icon up and then pressing the shutter button at the bottom of the screen. It’s very very quick, certainly.
Are third party apps as fast as the built in camera?
Yes, they seem to be just as fast. Instagram, for instance, worked perfectly – the app loads more quickly than on my Galaxy Nexus and the filters were also applied very quickly.
Is the camera as good as everyone says?
It’s a good combination of the SGS2 and Galaxy Nexus cameras – very sharp pictures taken instantly. The speed is quite astonishing. The quality is similar to the One X and iPhone 4S – none of these are really that different from each other overall.
Is there a pink spot on the camera in artficial light?
This still seems to be present, sadly. Otherwise though, the camera seems very good, an improvement on the S2 and similar the One X (although the camera app is a bit less well laid out).
Is there a problem with the video autofocus?
Yes, that is something that a lot of people seem to be experiencing. Hopefully it will be fixed in software.
Memory
How much free RAM does the system report right after booting?
359 MB used, 420 MB free.
How long does the phone take to reboot?
Exactly 30 seconds.
How much disk space is available on a clean phone?
10.9 GB is free (with 3 small apps downloaded and installed).
Is the same partition used for app data and user date, so that taking pictures will fill the same space as installing apps?
Yes, that’s correct.
Screen
Is there any oleophobic screen layer?
Yes, there appears to be one similar to the Galaxy Nexus. That said, it still gets pretty fingerprinty.
Screen visibility in the sun?
It’s not great, worse than the One X and iPhone. Still, anti-glare screen protectors should be available soon.
Battery
Can you take a screenshot of the battery information from an almost dead SGS3?
We haven’t yet had what could be called a ‘normal’ use of the S3 – it’s all been benchmarking, installing odd applications and playing video. We’ll get this one up when we can.
Battery life?
It’s very very good – we haven’t done our own tests, but GSMArena has done some nice ones.
How long does it take to charge?
About one hour and 45 minutes, but I haven’t done a charging test. It charges very slowly over USB, which suggests it’s best practice to turn it off if you’re charging it from a PC instead of from a car charger or wall adapter.
Sound
How good is the rear speaker?
It’s pretty good actually, better than the Galaxy Nexus for sure. You’d still want headphones or external speakers for serious listening though.
How good does it sound on headphones – are the equalisers any good?
Yeah, they’re top notch. They’re not this Beats rubbish, and they work exactly as you’d expect.
Chassis
How is the build quality?
The coating of the S3 is the same ceramic material as used in the One X, but looks worse thanks to the removable back cover (and therefore the micro SD slot and the removable battery). It feels a lot better in the hand than you’d expect, I like the curves and personally prefer it to the One X.
Does the phone heat up?
Not in my experience, despite running benchmarks, 1080p videos and all the rest. If this is a problem for you, there is a mesh case which provides better head dissipation (for your hand and the S3!).
Are there any build flaws like the One X has (e.g. flickering or display ripple?)
No, not on this particular model.
Network
How well does the GPS work?
Pretty well – lock is relatively quick, and I saw about 18 satellites in the UK on a cloudy day (if that makes a difference).
What bands / frequencies does the international GSM version use?
According to GSMArena, it uses: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 and HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100. I don’t know if that’s accurate, but I don’t know a way of testing this on the phone itself.
Does the wireless work well? The S2 seemed to have poor wireless range.
It seems to work as well or better than the Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4s.
How is the signal strength?
It seems to work very nicely, no complaints here.
Software
Does S Voice work well enough for normal average use?
Not really. It’s hit-and-miss, worse than Siri in both comprehension and particularly in the time it takes to get an answer. Still, it’s the best effort we’ve seen on Android thus far.
Does Android 4 make a difference?
A huge one – Android 4.0 is the biggest Android upgrade ever and is really slick and easy to use. I prefer it unskinned (as on the Galaxy Nexus), but it’s still very good in both performance, default apps and usability.
Does Face Tracking (Smart Stay) work?
Yes, it works much better than I expected. Not turning off the screen while you’re reading it is a really nice subtle change that makes the phone a lot more human-friendly; definitely one of the better features on the S3.
Does S Voice work with Bluetooth headsets out of the box?
Yup, it seems to work just fine!
Does it employ the same aggressive background app termination policy as the One X?
No, it seems to use the standard Android scheduler in my experience.
Can you set a video file as a live wallpaper?
Not out of the box, no.
What’s the maximum amount of apps you can have open? Will it crash?
Not in our testing; it handles multiple apps quite well although as it has 1 GB of RAM it may have to terminate them more frequently than the forthcoming LG handsets with 2 GB of RAM.
How does the video player work? How is video performance?
1080p video works just fine, including large files of h264 at 40 Mbps. MKV containers aren’t natively supported, but will work in Dice Player and other third party apps. YouTube in the web browser works less well than the YouTube app, as you’d expect. 720p YouTube is flawless. These all work: One, Two.
How does Grand Theft Auto 3 run and look?
It’s incredibly fluid, no FPS drops and looks as good as on PC.
What games are free in the Game Hub?
Blackjack, Vegas Strip City, Call of Duty Modern Warfare (e.g. COD4), Zombie Escape 3D: School Labyrinth, Chameleon War Free, Fish Pop Bop, Toyshop Adventures HD, Inotia 3: Children of Carnia, Build-a-lot, Labyrinth of the Goblin, Slice It, loads more that I don’t recognise. Most seem to be for children.
Comparisons
to the Samsung Galaxy S2?
It’s a massive leap forward – the leap to HD resolution is one that you’ll most appreciate, but twice the number of cores, a bigger screen and the new Android 4.0 TouchWiz skin are all massive boosts. Definitely worth the upgrade.
to the HTC One X?
I prefer the TouchWiz UI to HTC’s Sense, although I prefer vanilla Android 4 to both of these. The S3 has a different styled chassis that most people seem to dislike (although that changes when they actually use the S3). Both are very similar in size and weight, which is to say a massive screen, thin chassis and not as much weight as you’d expect. The One X has an arguably better screen, which is less bright but has better colour reproduction, no Pentile and is more usable in sunlight.
to the Galaxy Nexus?
It’s basically a much more powerful and slightly larger Galaxy Nexus, with TouchWiz instead of vanilla Android. The camera is noticeably improved, the display is a little brighter and bigger. I still prefer the vanilla OS, but some TouchWiz additions are nice. The front-facing camera is a lot better: Galaxy S III vs Galaxy Nexus example.
Accessories
What’s special about the C-Pen?
The C-Pen has a much smaller nib than most capacitive styli, meaning it’s much easier to do precision work. It also looks fantastic and looks real classy. We’ve got a video coming soon, so stay tuned for a link!
Best case for the S3?
Probably I’d go for the Flip Cover, which is a nice mixture of protection and size. It replaces the existing back cover so you don’t add much bulk, and it feels a lot more durable than what it replaces. The screen protection is also good; you can even close the cover when talking on the phone. The texture is unchanged and it’ll work with the S3 docks.
Essential accessories?
A good wall charger or desk stand is essential – the S3 seems to charge very slowly over a USB connection (e.g. from a PC). The C Pen is also great, particularly if you’re a fan of drawing games like Draw Something. It’s also handy for notes using the included S Memo app. Finally, there are a lot of good Samsung Galaxy S3 cases on the market, including the Flip Cover listed above and the Slim Case.
Thanks for participating, and feel free to continue to fling questions at us!
I really want to get rid of the heads were you can add an image to the contact. As in when im on my messages i only want the name of the contact not any photo or funny looking character head !
I have lost my gmail. How do I get it back?
how can you alter the ringtone time before it defaults to voicemail ?
My s3 give me only about ten-fifteen seconds before it goes to the answering service (vodaphone uk) which is not long enough to get to the ‘phone. Can this be altered (lenghthened) from the ‘phone or is it a setting from the voicemail service ?
I don’t know? Is this in the default contacts app?
why can i only type in 14 characters when adding a new name to my phonebook..
even after reading a text message the messaging icon on the home screen shows
(1) as if the message has not been read. whats wrong??