The Samsung Galaxy S III was officially announced June 4 2012, and arrived little more than a month later. The award-winning handset is approaching 60 million units in global sales, and has been popular due to a slim, light form factor, large high-resolution display, speedy processor and attractive feature package. Currently retailing for one penny on contract and available from select online retailers, recent integration issues between the TouchWiz UI and Android’s Jelly Bean 4.2.2 OS update have delayed that software from hitting the handset.
The Samsung Galaxy S III 16GB Black is available for a reduced sale price now starting at $0.01.
Some industry analysts and Android bloggers have mentioned that perhaps Samsung is intentionally delaying the Android 4.2.2 Galaxy S III update because of the recent slowdown in Galaxy S4 sales. When two very similar devices have the same software, and one is priced substantially lower than the other, smartphone shoppers sometimes choose the less expensive, although older device.
The thinking is that by allowing the Galaxy S4 the newer software that cannot be found on the Galaxy S III, the S4 will be offering a feature that will make it the more desirable choice between the two phones. This means that the Galaxy S III could possibly move from the current Jelly Bean operating system it enjoys straight to Jelly Bean 4.3 or possibly even Android 5.0, tastily titled Key Lime Pie. The slim and light phone weighs 4.70 ounces (133 g), and measures just 0.34 inches (8.6 mm) in profile.
The Galaxy S III was one of the first Android smartphones to offer simultaneous HD video and image capture, via its rear facing 8.0 megapixel camcorder. That phone delivers a special effects package, self timer, auto and touch to focus and advanced features like high dynamic range mode (HDR), ISO control and a back illuminated sensor (BSI). The GS III records video in 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (1,080P HD resolution) and also offers a front facing chat cam.
The Galaxy S III is capable of up to 15.0 hours after fully charging its 2,100 mA battery, and the phone’s large 4.80 inch Super AMOLED screen delivers a True HD resolution of 720 by 1,280 pixels. Corning Gorilla Glass 2 is on board for scratch protection, with the phone running on a dual core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 plus CPU. 2.0 GB of RAM memory are on board, a 32 GB model is also offered, and a microSD slot is present for storage expansion. Facebook, YouTube, Picasa and Twitter applications are ready for use out-of-the-box.
