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Video Playback
The Samsung Galaxy S III’s video player handled most files I had on hand with relative ease and I didn’t notice any slowdowns. A list of working files included high definition .mkv and .mp4 files, however it would not play a 1080p H.264 .mov file or a 40 Mb/s .mkv file. If you have a lot of high quality files you’re better off using something like MX Player instead.
A neat addition to the software is the live previews that can be seen under the thumbnail view or under the chapter preview option within a video. Users can also find their desired video through the folder schemes of the phone’s storage.
In addition to this, Samsung has what they call pop-up play. While playing a video normally with one tap of a button the video reduces in size and overlays whatever is on the screen behind it. You can move it around as you please but cannot change its size. Android runs completely normally behind this but I see limited usage possibilities of this. Perhaps if they allowed its size to be modified and added pause/play buttons it would be useful.
Music Application
Samsung’s bundled music application has a music square function that can scan the music library and sort applications into different categories. Sliding over different parts of the square will result in different songs being selecting depending upon excitement, passion, joyful and calming ratings. I thought this was pretty cool and found it to be rather accurate.
Users are able to swipe the album art to skip through songs. Folder view is also supported for those people like me who refuse to rely solely upon file tags. Streaming music from nearby devices worked well but all songs are thrown into one endless list rather than being categorised.
Audio Quality
The Galaxy S III has a Wolfson DAC which results in better audio quality without the need for gimmicky audio equalisers like Beats Audio. Personally, I could barely notice the premium audio experience on the S III when compared to the One X, but admittedly I am no audiophile.
Every audio engineer you meet will probably tell you that if you want the best audio experience then you should buy the Galaxy S III, however most people are not going to notice the difference.
Furthermore, the external speaker is about the same quality as the HTC One X’s but is considerably louder. However, it is much easier to muffle on the Galaxy.
It is a great phone, after reading this I feel I made a mistake by getting the HTC ONE X. I have problems with mine getting very warm in a pocket. I think mine have a fault … Have you experienced this blair?
Brian, what software version is your One X running? 1.26 and 1.28 ran fairly hot anyway but 1.29 and newer seems to have fixed that. I can’t say it ever got warm while it was in my pocket, are you sure there isn’t a game or something else running in the background?
ill check when i get home, I think its the newest, although I could be wrong.
Im gutted reading this review however as this phone looks a lot better than the HTC one I have.
excellent, looks much better than my iphone4, but I really love the Apple store which is why I dont move. shame Apple wouldnt let other manufactuers make a version for iOS. Always been their problem, keeping everything locked down.
OP: “design doesn’t look that impressive” …. desktop design? On all Android operating systems (unlike Windows & others), the desktop design can be easily changed, freeware or token payments. If the hardware case, nearly all mass-selling smartphones have numerous third-party covers & cases, for fashion, protection or both.
Many people have been anticipating the Samsung Galaxy S III for some time. There is some criticism about the design, but Samsung hit all the right notes for this smartphone in terms of power and hardware. The Samsung Galaxy S3′s battery life isn’t quite the best, but it is one of the better ones.
http://www.careace.net/2012/05/25/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-battery-life-is-longest-of-any-competing-smartphone/
awesome review mate! great phone!
i think in android the samsung galaxy SIII is better than the galaxy beam