Offered by AT&T, Sprint and Verizon starting at $149 on contract at select retailers, the long anticipated Samsung Galaxy S III 4G Android smartphone has finally arrived. One of the first handsets on the Sprint network to offer 4G LTE connectivity, the device also runs on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network, and the AT&T 4G LTE network. The GS III models are the same as far as technical specs and features are concerned, and the only difference is the handset runs up to 15 hours on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network, and currently up to 9.5 hours on the Sprint wireless system. Sprint is in the midst of completing their 4G LTE system, and as soon as they do that battery life should increase.
Buy the Samsung Galaxy S III starting at $149.
Having said that, the average battery life for a 4G smartphone is 8.0 hours, so both Galaxy S III handsets offer above average performance in that regard. One area where the Samsung Galaxy III 4G Android smartphone leads all mobile handsets is in RAM system memory. The GS III delivers a full 2.0 GB of RAM memory, but the impressive hardware on board does not make for an overly heavy or bulky handset, as the GS III measures only 0.34 inches (8.8 mm) in thickness, and weighs 4.70 ounces (130 g).
Samsung uses their TouchWiz UX user interface as an Android overlay to Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) 4.0, and multitouch, capacitive gestures are used to navigate the device. Near Field Communications (NFC) support is offered out-of-the-box on the GSIII, and Facebook, Twitter, Picasa and YouTube social media applications come pre-installed. The 4.8 inch display is one of the largest found on any smartphone, and screen resolution runs to the high-end of the smartphone marketplace at 720 x 1,280 pixels. Pixel density is also at the high end comparatively at 306 pixels per inch, and that Super AMOLED display is protected by a second generation of scratch resistant and glare reducing Corning Gorilla Glass 2.
The handset is powered by a Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon microchip package, which centers around a dual core 1.5 GHz central processing unit. A graphics specific Adreno 225 GPU is also present, and the handset delivers the maximum amount of out-of-the-box built-in storage at 32 GB. MicroSD, microSDHC and microSDXC cards are supported up to 64 GB in size. The front facing 1.9 MP chat cam joins a rear facing 8.0 megapixel camcorder in the camera combo, and that rear snapper captures video at 1,080P HD resolution. Buy the Samsung Galaxy S III starting at $149 for AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon.
