Samsung Electronics unveiled a new top-of-the-range Galaxy smartphone in London, updating the most direct rival to Apple's iPhone with a larger touch screen and more powerful processor. The South Korean technology group said the new Galaxy SIII model would go on sale in some markets in late May and around the world from June. "The Galaxy S is more like a good friend that listens to you and responds quickly," Samsung's Vice President Jean Daniel said. Here are ten facts about the Galaxy S III:
The new Galaxy SIII model will have a 4.8 inch AMOLED screen, 8 megapixel camera and will use the latest version of Google's Android software, Ice Cream Sandwich version 4.0.
The screen is 1,280 by 720 pixels, it has HSPA+ connectivity, the removable battery is 2,100mAh, and it's packed with a quad-core Exynos processor. The phone will come in blue or white colours and in three memory sizes (16GB, 32GB and 64GB), with the ability to add memory via a microSD card.
The new smartphone features 'S Voice', a voice command option to listen and respond to users' words. The option can be used to go off users' phone alarm, turn volume up, send text messages, organize schedules, and automatically launch the camera and capture a photo.
The 'Smart stay' is an eye sensor system that prevents the phone from dimming. It recognizes how users are using their phone by having the front camera identify your eyes.
The 'S Beam' lets the user tap phones with another Galaxy S III owner to easily transfer files or documents.
'Pop up play' lets the user watch a video while surfing the Web or answering email. The video simply becomes a small box that overlays on any other apps that are running, like picture-in-picture on a TV.
In addition, the Galaxy S3 can understand users' motions. If users are messaging someone but decide to call them instead, users can simply lift their phone to their ear and 'Direct call' option will dial their number.
The new Galaxy will be powered by Samsung's quad-core microprocessor, which the company hopes will also be used in handsets made by HTC and Motorola, as well as Apple, its biggest customer for components.
The Exynos 4 Quad, based on British chip designer ARM Holdings Cortex A9 technology, enables more tasks in a shorter period of time - for example streaming video can run on one core while the other cores update applications, connect to the web and scan virus-check, simultaneously.
The Galaxy S III will be launching in 145 countries and with 296 mobile operators in the coming months, marking Samsung's largest mobile launch ever.
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