Samsung recently announced that it would be delivering the Jelly Bean 4.3 Android operating system update to several of its handsets. Included on that list is the Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone, a phone which currently sells for one penny on contract at select online retailers in the 16 GB model. Announced at an UnPacked event, this comes as great news for the owners of the more than 60 million Galaxy S III phones which have been sold around the world.
The Samsung Galaxy S III 16GB is available for a reduced sale price now starting at one penny.
Update availability is dependent upon your carrier, and no official launch date for the 4.3 OS upgrade in October has been announced. One of the many improvements to the Android operating system that will arrive in this update is a parental blocking feature. Smartphone buyers who want to limit access to certain applications and content on their children’s phones can now do so with Android 4.3, which allows you to customize just what is available and what is off-limits on the Galaxy S III.
You can also set multiple user profiles on a single Galaxy S III handset, and the new Bluetooth Smart lets mobile apps on your Galaxy S III work with other devices like fitness sensors or heart rate monitors. Android 4.3 supports OpenGL ES 3.0, so developers and app designers can render realistic graphics. There is also a newer Digital Rights Managment API for high definition content which will be used by Netflix and other companies.
A few other minor updates include Bluetooth AVRCP, dial pad auto-complete and a much easier text input functionality. The Galaxy S III is a slim handset, measuring just 0.34 inches (8.6 mm) in thickness. Light in weight at just 4.70 ounces (133 g), the phone boasts a large 4.80 inch True HD display protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 2. Talk time from a single charge is almost 50% better than the industry average at 15.0 hours.
The Galaxy S3 is powered by a dual core Snapdragon S4 plus processor, offers a generous 2.0 GB of RAM memory and a microSD slot for storage expansion. The camera combo includes a front facing chat cam with Skype and video call support, as well as a rear facing 8.0 megapixel snapper with simultaneous HD video and image recording capability. An extensive special effects package is on board the rear shooter, which records video in 1,080 P HD resolution and at a rate of 30 frames per second.
