Samsung has received criticism for the amount of storage its flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone allows users to access out of the box, but CNET reports that Samsung may be considering ways it could optimize the operating system and free up more space for users.
Samsung’s Galaxy S4 smartphone runs a custom variant of Android, which allows the company to include features not on other Android phones including Google’s own Nexus phones, but the feature-heavy OS comes at the cost of using half the capacity on a 16GB device.
One of the more interesting products released in 2012 is the $500 Samsung Galaxy Camera— a little combination of an Android smartphone and a high-end point-and-shoot camera with a 21X optical zoom.
Samsung isn’t the first one on the scene with an Android point and shoot. That award goes to Nikon with its $350 Coolpix S800c, and technically Polaroid, too. However, with Samsung’s leadership role in smartphones, as well as a strong point-and-shoot camera business, this one is the most anticipated with knock-your-sock-off specs.
While we heard previously that Samsung was beginning to roll out Galaxy S III Jelly Bean updates in Poland, the carrier confirmed today users in the United States would see the update in the “coming months.” We still do not know exactly when to expect it, but Samsung said Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular will announce specific timing for the over-the-air updates separately. We will of course notify you when they do. Samsung’s full press release is below.
I spent the last week with two Samsung Galaxy S IIIs—a Sprint version and an AT&T version. Sprint’s version is LTE, which has not rolled out yet, so it has been on the slow 3G CDMA. AT&T’s version is also LTE, which I am often able to get access to while on the outskirts of Silicon Valley. For that reason, I have used the AT&T version most of the time. But really, they are the same phone, which is the big news here…
The Verge’s Vlad Savovjust completed an extensive breakdown of the Samsung Galaxy S III that unveiled in London earlier this month. The review is fully-equipped with video, imagery, and hordes of information. One such video is above, while a snippet of its wrap-up and a grading chart are below:
[...] the Galaxy S III is a technological triumph. Not at first sight, perhaps, but Samsung has done the overwhelming majority of things right. The camera is easily the best I’ve used on an Android device, the processor claims the title of benchmarking champion, and the customizations layered on top of Ice Cream Sandwich are mostly unobtrusive and sometimes even helpful. They never really gel into one coherent user experience, meaning you’ll have to learn what each new feature does individually rather than intuiting it from the phone’s general behavior, however that’s a trifling complaint when compared to our usual disappointments with Android OEM skins. TouchWiz may still have its illogicalities, but it’s been cleaned up and streamlined sufficiently to make it an adequate alternative to Google’s stock experience. While neither the display nor the construction materials on the Galaxy S III are the best possible, both represent acceptable compromises that help Samsung balance out the rest of its class-leading spec sheet.
The extra-large size of this phone, even with its great ergonomics, may prove to be a stumbling block for those who can’t comfortably fit a 4.8-inch handset into their daily routine. Still, the popularity of the Galaxy Note has shown that phone buyers are willing to look to more exotic form factors in their pursuit of novelty and extra functionality — and the Galaxy S III suffers no shortage of either.
Links to 9to5Google’s coverage of the S III launch event are after the break. Read more
The Samsung Galaxy S III is being unveiled in London right now, but the first hands-on reviews have already hit the web. Check out the first-impressions below, and then head over to 9to5Google’s live gallery to get full coverage of the launch event.
