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!