GS3 GPS

One of my colleagues asked me today about the GPS on the GS3. It’s something I hadn’t yet tried, so vowed to give it a go on the way home.

I know there were a number of people who had issues with the GPS on the original Galaxy S, and a few had mentioned similar problems with the GS2. I never had any problem with my GS2, but I was only ever using the GPS function for basic driving and walking navigation, and for the Samsung Hope relay app.

Normally I would use my phone instead of a sat nav, however, with my rubbish sense of direction, I often find myself in situations where I quickly have to pull over and try to navigate my way to my destination. However, with the GS2 I found that locating satellites sometimes took quite a while before I could start moving again. This was quite annoying, especially if I got lost when trying to get to somewhere at a specific time (for me, this does happen quite often). So, for the purpose of testing the GS3, I thought I’d first set a route to take me home from work.

The first thing I noticed was that the GPS locks a lot quicker than on the GS2.  I locked onto the GPS satellites while in my car, in the bottom floor of a 2 story carpark in about 30 seconds, which is quite impressive for a first use. Using GPS Test, I was able to see that the handset had locked onto 13 satellites, with an accuracy of 24.2 feet! Pretty impressive! Further navigation attempts locked onto satellites in about 10 seconds, which is handy if you need to get directions quickly. 

In terms of navigation, I particularly like that there is an option for alternative routes – this may be present with the ICS update for GS2, but I never got round to updating mine (I preferred the handset with Gingerbread). This can be shown in the picture below.

For voice guided navigation, the nice lady who tells me where to go sounds a bit muffly compared to the crisp directions on the GS2, which is slightly disappointing. I think this is due to the speaker being positioned at the top of the handset, as the Galaxy Note and GS2 had similar crisp voice navigation from their speakers at the bottom of the device. This is quite annoying.

I also tried the walking directions, which were equally accurate, but had the same muffly voice. Again, the GPS locked on fairly quickly – about 10 seconds – and the directions were extremely accurate.

I know I haven’t tested the GPS extensively yet, but it will get a good outing over the next 

few weeks, and if anything arises, I’ll be sure to let you know. So far, all seems good, apart from the muffly voice navigation.

The Samsung Galaxy S 3 - Hands on

Since the Unpacked event, I've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of my very own Galaxy S3. It finally arrived - in marble white- and I've been blown away.

The Samsung Galaxy S 3 is undoubtedly a very sexy handset. The slim design with thin bezel and slightly curved edges is comfortable and stylish, and the simple design is classy and elegant. This is the first white device I have ever owned and I was a bit dubious at first, but it is very classy. The software design within ICS is more customisable than that of previous handsets, allowing for the layout to be unique to the user. I especially like the fact that additional fonts can be downloaded to further personalise the device.

Beneath the surface, the specs are equally as sexy.  The quad core processor allows for super speedy internet browsing – I’ve never experienced browsing so fast on a mobile device! Pages load seamlessly and quickly, without any lagging when loading pictures. One little niggle I have with the browser is that you can’t Swype input in the URL bar. This is a minor inconvenience, but is annoying since I was used to this with the GS2, and find it much faster and easier than typing a full address.

The camera is slicker and sharper than that of the GS2, allowing for stunning clarity of pictures. All the usual apps and settings are present- with the exclusion of the news and weather app, which I found extremely useful. I can’t seem to find the same app available for download, but have been able to source suitable alternatives. S Memo is also available for this handset, which is handy, but is not as easy to use as that of the Note, which has the added benefit of the S-Pen for easier handwriting input.

The motion features on the S3 are a great addition, and are far from the somewhat gimmicky motions found on the S2. The direct call feature – allowing you to call a contact by just lifting the phone to your ear – is extremely useful when on the go or in a hurry, and the palm to pause is great when you unexpectedly need to mute the device. Smart stay is a really excellent feature – the device recognises when you are watching the screen, and remains on without the need for constantly tapping the screen when reading emails or web articles, or watching video. When watching video, the pop-up play is a cool feature, which allows you to keep the video open in a small screen, while you continue texting, browsing or composing email. These features really enhance the appeal and performance of the device, rather than being gimmicky additions which you won’t really use.

Another useful inbuilt feature is the mobile data counter – without having to download a separate app, the device tracks the amount of mobile data used, and even tells you how this has been used. A handy, and super accurate, feature, especially nowadays when internet use quickly adds up.

The addition of 50GB of Dropbox space is great, as well as the fact that images and video taken with the handset are automatically uploaded, ensuring that you never lose important images. The device ships with 16GB memory, and can take up to a 64GBmemory card – plenty of space for storing anything you could possibly want.

So, it may have taken a while for my network provider to sort my micro sim, but I was very glad when they did, as it meant I could use this as my main handset. At first I was afraid I may be neglecting my trusty S2, which has served me very very well, but the ease of use and stylish design have me convinced that the Galaxy S 3 definitely is designed for humans, and not for sheep!

Samsung Galaxy S III - Unpacked 2012

So, on Thursday I had the fantastic opportunity to join my fellow Mobilers at Unpacked 2012 - the worldwide launch of the Samsung Galaxy S III - in Earl’s Court in London. We met up early for breakfast, and the air was filled with speculative chattering about what this next device might be. We had all seen the supposed leaks, but were unsure how the final handset would turn out. At 12pm we made our way to the exhibition centre, where we were to receive a briefing and demo of the handset, before helping with the press launch later that night.

As the slideshow began, the room fell silent – what would this device have in store for us- would it live up to the speculation that it was ‘the next big thing’? Well, it did!

The Galaxy S III has been ‘designed for humans’, taking its design inspiration from nature; the look and feel of leaves, pebbles and water. This theme runs into the software of the device, as well as the hardware.  It will be available in wither blue or white, and will be launched in the UK on 29 May.


And now to the specs.  The GS3 packs some top-notch hardware –

·         4.8” display with 306ppi

·         8mp camera with burst shot and best photo settings (1.9mp front camera)

·         Exynos 1.4 GHz processor

·         HTP40 WI-FI

·         Bluetooth 4.0

·         Extremely thin bezel with hyperglaze skin back cover, and only 133grams in weight

·         Improved motion features – tap to top, shake, smart stay and direct call

·         Notification light

·         S Voice

·         Face and voice unlock

·         Pop-up play

·         Allshare

The processor ensures a speedy response when browsing and multitasking, and allows for the use of the pop-up play feature. This allows e user to watch video in a pop-up screen, which can easily be repositioned on the display, while browsing the web or composing text.

The 8mp camera produces stunning stills on the 306ppi 4.8” display. The burst shot feature takes 20 photos in quick succession; essential for photographing moving objects. The best photo feature then chooses the best picture based on smile detection, blink and blur. 

Smart stay ensures that the display remains lit without dimming while your eyes are focussed on the screen. As soon as your eyes look away, the screen will dim. This is a handy feature which really comes into its own when reading E-Books or browsing lengthy web articles. The direct call feature is also extremely useful. It allows you to make a call just by lifting the handset to your ear, essential for when another text reply just isn’t suitable.

The face and voice unlock feature builds additional security against the face unlock feature seen in the recent Galaxy Nexus. The GS3 can be unlocked by face and voice only, eliminating the risk of using a photo to unlock.

The Allshare feature allows you to share files with other handsets using 3G or WI-FI, or allows streaming of files from your PC to the handset, even when you are outside the home.

The S Voice feature has been compared to IPhones Siri, but in my opinion this is much slicker. S Voice can recognise 6 languages, including both British and American English, and can be used to command the phone as well as bring up weather or calendar information. In terms of usability, it’s very easy, and I must say, I’m impressed that it can even recognise my Northern Ireland accent, a feat which no handset has ever been able to accomplish. I’ll be glad to be able to use the voice feature on the GS3 without having to put on a rather posh English accent!

Also unveiled at Unpacked 2012 were a range of accessories for the GS3. These included a range of cases, a wireless charging dock, a wireless docking station and an Allshare Cast dongle, which allows the user to use the Allshare function with a non-WI-FI enabled TV. The Samsung Pebble was also on show – a smallMP3 player, somewhat akin to the iPod shuffle, but taking the same natural design as the GS3. This will pack 4GB of storage and is available in the same blue and white colours as the handset.

After the product training, we all set off to the main exhibition hall to show off the features of this fab handset to the world’s media. As soon as they were invited to view the handset, 3000 of the world’s press began hurtling towards us, tripping each other and pushing people aside, to be the first one to get those all-important pictures and videos to showcase to the world. The next couple of hours were spent providing demonstrations of the handsets features, and I was tasked with showing off the Allshare Play function (as you can see in the above video). I absolutely loved it, and wish I could do this every day!


After a very busy few hours of promoting, it was time to leave. As we left we were all presented with a lovely Jo Malone candle, which is now burning in my house and making it smell delightful! This was packed nicely inside a Samsung bag, with a gift tag declaring ‘thanks for being our inspiration’ – what a lovely treat! These were given to all of the media present by some very beautiful ladies, as a reminder of the day Samsung launched the next big thing.

From my experience at Unpacked 2012, I can honestly say that the Samsung Galaxy S III is a very attractive handset. The features and design will ensure that it really is the market leader, and this theory will no doubt be proved when it goes on sale on May 29^th. I’m already waiting to get my hands on one!