Event Coverage

Samsung Galaxy S III - The New Star on the Block (Updated with Video!)

By Wong Casandra - 4 May 2012

Creating An Organic Experience

Inspired by Nature

The Samsung Galaxy S III might be the top horse for now in a fast-changing and fast-moving industry, but ultimately, the key to winning the consumers' hearts is to provide a user experience that is fluid and intuitive. This is why Samsung strives to provide an "organic" experience that responds naturally to your needs and there's plenty of exciting new improvements on the S III. Interestingly, these new features are categorized under three broad (and rather dully-concocted) terms: Intelligence, Share and Greatness. Here's a quick run-down of what's new in the Galaxy S III on our features highlight overview video before we pen down the full list:-


Intelligence

 

  • Smart Stay - Screen stays awake and does not dim as long as you are looking at it. It uses the front camera to monitor your eyes
     
  • Direct Call - Automatically dials contact displayed on the current screen when you bring the phone to your ear. This is available in Messages, Call Log, and Contact Details screen
     
  • Smart Alert - Alerts you of missed events when you pick up the device
     
  • Best Photo & Burst Shot - Best Photo recommends photo with the best quality (i.e., eyes opened/smiling) of eight photos; Burst Shot takes up to 20 continuous shots
     
  • S Voice - A combination of 3rd party solutions and Samsung's technology, it allows voice-activated access and control of applications (e.g., control playback of music, volume, send SMS and email, launch camera, take a photo, snooze an alarm)
     
  • Social Tag - Allows users to access people's social networking and contact information from facial photos in the gallery 

Face and voice unlock for those who are super adventurous!

The Best Shot chooses the optimal shot based on a person's facial expression and eyes.

Once the phone recognizes a face, you can start adding social tags/contact information. This is useful for a) photo sorting b) sharing photos with your friend in the future (read below).

 

Share

 

  • S Beam - NFC allows users to easily transfer files by simply touching two devices with each other, without the need of a Wi-Fi or cellular signal. Larger files are transferred via Wi-Fi Direct
     
  • AllShare Play - View, edit and share files from anywhere through remote access. Share screen among multiple parties on the same Wi-Fi network via Group Cast
     
  • AllShare Cast - Mirroring content to a TV and extension (e.g., game controller)
     
  • Buddy Photo Share - Working in conjunction with the Social Tag feature, faces in photos taken will be recognized (profile photos in contacts are used as references to match the faces) and these will show the contact information of the individuals. You can immediately share the image with the identified personnel with one tap

No need for emails - just use S Beam. 

 

Greatness

 

  • Pop-up Play - Allows you to watch a video on a pop-up screen while performing other tasks
     
  • Camera - Comes with zero shutter lag and takes about 6 pictures per second. HD video recording at 30fps
     
  • Face Zoom & Face Slideshow - Double tap recognized face to zoom in; slideshow of individual zoomed portrait photos can be created from a group photo
     
  • Group Tag - Automatically sorts pictures by groups in contacts; other sorting options include: location, time, person, album

We found the Pop-up Play feature pretty useful, especially if you just want to do some light surfing without having to pause your video and go back to it later.

Samsung will not confirm whether these features will be included in a future update for its existing portfolio of devices but we are expecting the newer devices such as the Galaxy Note, Galaxy Nexus and even its recent tablets to get these nifty software extras.

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