Samsung Galaxy S III Announced: See The New Specs (PHOTOS)

Samsung has taken the wraps off the Galaxy S III smartphone, the successor to the popular Galaxy S II.

At a flashy media event on Thursday in London, the company debuted its latest flagship phone, equipped with a 4.8-inch display capable of displaying content at up to 720p resolution, a quad-core Exynos CPU, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera, a choice of 16GB or 32GB storage, and much more. (According to The Verge, a 64GB version of the device will be coming later.)

Powered by Google's Android 4.0 OS (aka Ice Cream Sandwich), the Galaxy S III will also feature a Siri-like app called S Voice that lets the user dictate commands to the device. "If the alarm goes off and you need a bit more rest, you can say 'Snooze' to the phone. The feature can also be used to play songs, adjust volume, organize schedules and send e-mails," the New York Times reported, per a Samsung rep.

So far there is no official word on pricing or an exact release date, but the device will be available first in Europe at the end of May, according to Engadget's live blog of Samsung's event. The 4G version should make it to the U.S. in the summertime. [UPDATE: Samsung has said the Galaxy will go on sale on May 29 in Europe.]

Take a look at photos from the event, courtesy of Samsung's live stream:

According to Engadget's live blog, the S III is 8.6mm thick and weighs 133 grams, which is only slightly heavier than the Galaxy S II. It also packs a beefy 2100mAh battery, which Gizmodo points out is the first time Samsung's equipped one of its smartphones with a battery this size.

JK Shin, Samsung's president and head of IT and mobile, said that the Galaxy S III's curved design was inspired by items in nature. The device will come in two colors: pebble blue and marble white.

Sources reportedly told The Verge that the device will land on Sprint in the U.S. The AP notes that the device's predecessor was available from all four major U.S. carriers.

The Samsung Galaxy S III is positively bursting with features. Check out the coolest ones here. Then, take a look at Samsung's gorgeous new commercial for the device.

Twitter users were quick to react to the news. Here's a sampling of tweets about the Galaxy S III's unveiling.

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• Joe Pollicino

• Adriano Wong

• Nirmal

• Mike Handy

• Droid Guy

• Awais Imran

• Danny Sullivan

• Rob Pegoraro

• Menna Gamal

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Comments

[xanxia]

03:12 AM on 05/12/2012

Haha! I came here to read the comments from fans and haters. Come on everyone, really? Lets stop this "war". Why can't it be a preference thing? Like me. I'm a sucker for huge screens, I get an android. I think if Iphone came up with a bigger screen, the display would be amazing! Iphone cameras are amazing, sound quality is amazing, android phones can suck in this area sometimes but I don't care cos I don't take pics or listen to music with my phone. I love being able to customize my android, insert sticker-like widgets for important apps I like to access in a single click. I love that I can have 7 panels of my own main screen look whatever I want and have any program I want. Iphone stock is really ugly to me and scrolling around looking for an app is frustrating and the tiny screen..... So it's a preference. My boyfriend was a HUGE Iphone fan until I told him to have an open mind. He loves his android now. Its whatever works for you!

[MrVee]

10:21 AM on 05/04/2012

Ars Technica blog says the Galaxy S3 is "sometimes sluggish". Quad core doesn't seems to improve this OS so to me, what is the benefit of a fast processor when the OS isn't optimized for it? Its like unlimited data, but slow as molasses Sprint. I do like some of what Touchwiz offers, just not enough for me to want to run that OS as a daily driver.

[DoItForTheChildren]

01:39 PM on 05/04/2012

it isnt sluggish! this phone destroys the iphone 4 and the 5 that is not even out!

you = epic failure and appletroll

[Seafarer61]

04:43 AM on 05/04/2012

The best part of these new bongo device announcements is the catfight which always is guaranteed to ensue between the apple fanboys and the droids. It's like going to a Star Trek convention that's being taken over by the Sith.

[J5K]

07:41 PM on 05/03/2012

Gotta love the ridiculous, uninformed iPhone users who walk out the tired anti-Android talking points whenever an Android-related post hits the blogosphere.

I had the option to either get a new iPhone or a Motorola Droid Razr Maxx yesterday. While the iPhone would have been at an introductory price, I was happy to pay full price at $650 for the Razr Maxx. It is significantly better hardware, as in nearly double the processing speed, twice the RAM, a much brighter screen, and twice the battery life of the iPhone 4S. And all that in a thinner phone with a bigger screen that weighs almost exactly the same.

And for all the naysayers who claim Android just doesn't have the apps -- I challenge you to list some apps that are worth having that aren't on both. With true multitasking, real 4G, and astounding processing speeds, your iOS devices don't even come close.

Plus, IMHO the Razr MAXX, the Samsung Galaxy series, and a plethora of other Android phones are far more attractive than iPhones.

If you prefer inferior hardware and an inferior OS, by all means, stick with your iPhone. But stop hating on the rest of us, just because we're smart enough and savvy enough not to embrace your poor choices.

[theveggiedude]

12:42 AM on 05/04/2012

There is a reason Android *NEEDS* better hardware - it can't run as efficiently as a iPhone without all the extra horsepower. Lag has always been an issue with Android. Ever wondered why? It's because it is Java based - meaning it has to run apps in emulation via a java runtime engine. There is a cost over head. The iPhone doesn't have that problem, and its OS and apps are truly native to the platform - no emulation required. That's why iPhone doesn't need quad core and as much RAM to have the same or better performance.

[J5K]

01:02 AM on 05/04/2012

That is the most technologically ignorant and Apple-apologist remark I have seen in a long time, buddy. But nice try.

You're completely wrong about java performance versus iOS's allegedly "truly native" apps. iOS is notorious for how inefficiently it uses hardware. Aside from that, java (and mobile flash for that matter) have seen significant improvements and the performance limitations you allude to simply do not exist.

We develop for both platforms. The mechanisms iOS uses to *fake* multitasking are some of the worst performance drains I have ever seen.

The reasons iPhones don't have the processors and RAM of Android devices, as given by Apple, are quite simple: they couldn't figure out how to make their shiny little toy jive with their opinion on aesthetics with the larger chipsets, and will deploy once they can get chip sizes down. Kind of a BS response, given that the Razr is more elegant and thinner than an iPhone 4S.

Come back when you have a legit response, sucka.

[AndroidFTW]

01:34 PM on 05/04/2012

every time you post someone slams you for your ignorance. Apple must not be happy with the money they give you to post. lol

you are getting slapped all over the place you dumb isheep! lol

you = epic fail! I suggest you start reading up on technology before you go posting on websites. You might sound more intelligent if you do.

[theveggiedude]

01:04 AM on 05/04/2012

This article explains all the design flaws causing lag in Android:

http://tinyurl.com/7x6b5va

"Even with a Galaxy Nexus, or the quad-core EeePad Transformer Prime, there is no way to guarantee a smooth frame rate if these two design constraints remain true… It’s telling that it takes the power of a Galaxy Nexus to approach the smoothness of a three year old iPhone."

[JohnTheMac]

09:30 AM on 05/04/2012

uh oh!
Brace yourself for the haters!

[PaticaDeGato]

10:20 AM on 05/04/2012

I own a Transformer Prime and the performance is great. Whatevs.....

[Marchant2]

06:21 PM on 05/03/2012

Boy, you read thru these comments and can't help but wonder if we're more devoted to our smartphones than we are to our surnames.

[Post31]

06:08 PM on 05/03/2012

Yay a new Samsung trash can filled with android garbage. I can't wait.

[xanxia]

02:56 AM on 05/12/2012

I've been pretty impressed by the Samsung android products I've owned so far. I buy and sell phones when I get bored and I can't imagine using any other mobile after android, everything is so boring in comparison but then again, its just me. The rest of you all can hate, I'm hella happy with my note :).

[CacaRoach]

06:03 PM on 05/03/2012

That thing looks like an iPad knockoff more than an iPhone knockoff. I toyed around with a Samsung/Droid smartphone briefly a few months ago and the graphics reminded me of my old Atari way back in the day. Maybe it was just because I wasn't used to it, but comparing it to the iPhone wasn't even close - the iPhone blew it away.

Side note... It will be amusing to see Apple come out with it's Apple TV later this year and give Samsung a taste of it's own medicine. Their dominance in the TV market is in jeopardy. While I love my Samsung TVs, I'm eagerly awaiting on the Apple TV to upgrade the TVs in my house.

Lastly, save it with the "fanboy" nonsense. I'm a fan of Apple, Samsung, Sony, LG (washer & dryer), etc... No need to get upsetty weddy that somebody wipped on your pwecious wittle Samsung pwoducts!

[J0E1]

06:25 PM on 05/03/2012

While I love my Samsung TVs, I'm eagerly awaiting on the Apple TV to upgrade the TVs in my house.

Lastly, save it with the "fanboy" nonsense. I'm a fan of Apple, Samsung, Sony, LG (washer & dryer), etc...

ROFL!  What a joke.  If you were actually a "fan of Samsung" and not an "apple fanboy", you wouldn't be anxious to upgrade your TV's from a company who has perfected the art and makes the best TV's, to a TV that hasn't even been formally announced yet from a company that has never made a TV and doesn't even make the screens on it's own devices LOL.  I mean really, you can't just declare that you have a Samsung TV and an LG washer as a "reason" you aren't a fanboy because Apple doesn't make TV's or washers!  Already, based on rumors, you are ready to dump your TV's for Apple, and if a rumor came out tomorrow that Apple would make a washer/dryer, you would throw those LG's out the door on the day of their release.

[bdl00]

06:31 PM on 05/03/2012

Bring back the side kicks I say, up to date and androidtastic.

[bdl00]

06:32 PM on 05/03/2012

I take that back there already is one! o00oo00oo0o0

[CT Independent]

05:35 PM on 05/03/2012

Not fair to Apple, poor guys, they spend an entire year catching up to last year's Android phones, and Samsung comes along and puts them back another year. My iphone 4 contract ends in August and I cant wait to dump it for the SIII

[Caesar Czo]

06:15 PM on 05/03/2012

yup, poke apple fans cuz no one cares about android phones. no need to pull up sales figures and side by side sales specs to counter that statement. i'm an isheep and i dont care about anything that doesnt have a little fruit on the back of it.

apple is catching up to samsung because in samsung's new phone from mars finally has a siri clone right?

i think the best feature of this phone would be a long extension cord so you can use the phone (or is it a tablet?) for longer than 3 hours. maybe that's why they need wireless charging.

i wonder what the next iphone killer android phone will be. luckily i dont have to wait too long since it'll prob be within the month. who's turn is it this time? htc? nokia? blackberry?

do the apple haters remember what phones used to look like before the iphone? lol

[WhatUSay]

06:35 PM on 05/03/2012

It's all about choice and fit. I love the Galaxy II I own, but I have an ipad. Why do people get boxed into a corner with a certain product BECAUSE of who makes it? If it fits, then buy it and keep buying it.

There are no apple killers, and apple won't kill android. Pepsi and Coke. Choice.

[J5K]

07:43 PM on 05/03/2012

You do realize that Apple only has about 26% of the smartphone market, and Android phones make up roughly 58%, right? What was that about sales figures again? FAIL

[markytex]

05:30 PM on 05/03/2012

I'm waiting for the Super-Galactic Cluster powered by dark matter running on qubits.

[seanathairTim]

05:09 PM on 05/03/2012

Call the Galaxy lll the i-galaxy and all the apple sheep would soil their panties.

[Commentator21]

05:04 PM on 05/03/2012

Based on these pictures my Galaxy SII looks nicer...

[LCdruid]

05:00 PM on 05/03/2012

I bet the HuffPo app still looks awful on it.

[Gjorg]

04:58 PM on 05/03/2012

Not an iPhone, who cares.

[anthonytaurus]

08:54 PM on 05/03/2012

At least you and whoever fav'd your comment. I mean, if you didn't care, why speak? For example, if I didn't want to laugh at you, I wouldn't have responded to your comment. Actions speak louder than words fanboy!!

[LORNADOONS]

04:57 PM on 05/03/2012

Does it fix french toast, or walk the dog?

[Gravenstein]

05:11 PM on 05/03/2012

No but it can tell jokes that are actually funny.

[O K Ali]

10:18 PM on 05/03/2012

No, but if it becomes self-aware, run for the hills.

[KOisGod]

04:55 PM on 05/03/2012

I still like my rotary dial western electric land line phone. Always on, battery life is fantastic, and no butt calls,,,, :)

[teepeeyoyo]

05:19 PM on 05/03/2012

When you can leave home with it, let us know.

[J0E1]

06:26 PM on 05/03/2012

He can leave home with it... just can't make calls.