The Samsung Galaxy S III

It might as well have been called the Galaxy S IIS. When Apple releases the next generation of iPhone that’s not a whole lot different from the current generation, they just add ‘S’ to the model name. For example, the iPhone 3GS is a small upgrade from the 3G, and the iPhone 4S is similarly a small upgrade from the 4. When I picked up on Samsung’s “The Next Galaxy” details this morning, I can’t help but feel that their next flagship should have been called the Samsung Galaxy S IIS. Or II+.

I didn’t stay up to watch the launch event live. I think I would have been utterly disappointed to learn, bit by bit, over an entire hour or so, how “The Next Galaxy” is really just, well, another gadget in their now very populace line of Galaxy devices.

Don’t get me wrong. The Samsung Galaxy S III is a great phone. The problem is, we’ve been expecting something more revolutionary. A whole lot more revolutionary.

So, I was disappointed to learn:

• It’s a Super AMOLED screen without the Plus, which probably means it’s a Pentile display. This is not the true RGB-type display we have on the current SGS2.
• I don’t need a 4.8″ big display. This is practically midway to the Galaxy Note from the current SGS2.
• The size is a little largish. Taller and wider than the HTC One X, but a little thinner. There’s too much space between the bottom of the screen and the new slenderized Home button. They might as well have left the Home button in the original size.
• 1.4GHz Quad Core Exynos CPU. Hey, HTC One X already’s got a 1.5GHz. I know, don’t just look at GHz. The benchmark seems to say the SGS3 does perform pretty well.
• Still a 8MP main camera. Of course, we’ve got to wait for photo samples to judge the camera quality.

I was so disappointed that I actually checked out the HTC One X specifications again, to see if it might be the better phone after all for my next upgrade.

The good things going for the SGS3 are the somewhat larger battery capacity (2100mAh). I hope that means longer battery life, and not it is a necessity to compensate for bigger power draw. I’m not a fan of the Galaxy Nexus styled curved top and bottom, but the new flatter back without any chin or lip is a plus to me. The camera seems to be better protected by a bezel that juts out a little bit. There’s also NFC built-in, with simple device-to-device sharing using NFC+Wifi Direct. Wireless battery charging is said to be coming.

A lot of the improvements are in the software department. For example:

• Phone stays awake because you look at it. Nice.
• Vibrates to alert you of missed calls/messages when you pick up the phone.
• Knows to call the person you’re texting simply by holding the phone to your ear.
• Camera takes a series of shots at one go, so you can then select the best shot. (This could mean the camera hardware is now much faster.)
• Automatic photo tagging.

I think, we’ve got to wait for more detailed reviews to learn more about the SGS3. Hopefully, they will not be disappointing. The HTC One X is very tempting.