The Samsung Galaxy S3

[Hanni]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i'm not sure what they're talking about with delays that we're used to north of the border. both the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Nexus were released in Canada before the US, and that's the case for most phones released in NA. because the Canadian carriers usually use the international versions for their phones while the US carriers insist on having the manufacturer create a custom version for each one of them, it can add a huge delay for new phones being released in the US

I think it's probably a more general statement as in many cases with consumer products we get them after the US.

[Old Yeller]

I hope they use the international version as I assume that would mean Canadians would be getting the quad core version?

[FlamingLonghorn]

Not enough improvement to make me upgrade my S2. Also, makes me not regret my HTC One purchase for my girlfriend a few weeks ago. I got her the One S as it performs pretty much just as well, has better battery life, worse screen, but thinner and lighter.

[Old Yeller]

Looks like it's dual core for Canada:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/30/c...-on-june-20th/

[Kipper is King]

I am doing some training with a Canadian Galaxy S3 today!

I am curious to see how the performance of our version compares to the international version.

If you have questions about the GS3, post them here and I will try to answer. I'm not sure if I will be able to take photos/video.

[Anduril]

Originally Posted by Kipper is King

I am doing some training with a Canadian Galaxy S3 today!

I am curious to see how the performance of our version compares to the international version.

If you have questions about the GS3, post them here and I will try to answer. I'm not sure if I will be able to take photos/video.

Lucky, mine is going to be tomorrow. So early in the morning....
Going to see if I can troll somebody with my SG2 using a SG3 themed ROM. Only thing is to get something like S Voice to work.
Sent my Asus TF201 Cyan Tapatalk

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i'm not sure what they're talking about with delays that we're used to north of the border. both the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Nexus were released in Canada before the US, and that's the case for most phones released in NA. because the Canadian carriers usually use the international versions for their phones while the US carriers insist on having the manufacturer create a custom version for each one of them, it can add a huge delay for new phones being released in the US

The S2 was delayed here by like 4-6 months compared to Europe, it had like 3 release windows.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by nik-

The S2 was delayed here by like 4-6 months compared to Europe, it had like 3 release windows.

That's because Canada had like three different version of the SII launch on the big three carriers with different hardware customizations. From what tech blogs are reporting, Samsung is pushing one version onto all the carriers this time around. One launch window this time.

What remains to be seen is if this compressed single launch will lead to shortages and Samsung having difficulty keeping up.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

What remains to be seen is if this compressed single launch will lead to shortages and Samsung having difficulty keeping up.

If you really want one at launch I recommend you pre-order.

The word floating around are saying there is very limited stock at launch for Canadian Carriers due to the recent production issues.

[Old Yeller]

Originally Posted by Kipper is King

If you have questions about the GS3, post them here and I will try to answer. I'm not sure if I will be able to take photos/video.

Don't have any specific questions that I can think, I'd just like your initial impressions or a bit of a review of what you saw.

[Kipper is King]

(Above taken with a crappy old phone camera)

Wow...what a phone!

My primary worry at first was the build quality. The moment I picked up the GS3, I thought "This is what everyone is complaining about?" To me, the phone feels solid, and the hyperglaze certainly gives it a more premium feel than cheaper plastic phones. I liked how slim it was, too. I did note that the screen size was just enough that it pushed the limit of being able to use the phone with one hand.

There were only a couple Marble White phones there (did not handle those, both colours will launch here), but I thought Pebble Blue looked quite good. That would probably be my choice. The Pebble Blue colour really divided people- some (like myself) found it to be refereshing. Others would have liked if it was a bit more black/grey. Also, I appreciated the physical home button, even if it was a touch small.

In terms of performance, this is a greeeeeeat phone to use! Yes, the screen is PenTile, but I barely noticed! It's certainly better than the Galaxy Nexus display.

The Snapdragon S4 with two GB of ram also make the GS3 quite speedy. I did not notice any slowness- everything seemed buttery smooth. Pop Up Play worked nicely (although it is a tad gimmicky), and I found S-Voice worked just as well as Siri in asking math questions, the weather, the population of London UK and the exchange rate for the Canadian dollar (my chosen examples). Sometimes, it would pick up background noise and say "I didn't catch that." The room was loud, though.

Smart Stay did not work well for me at all, though. I wear glasses, and I have a lazy eye, so I suspect that messed it up. The GS3 would sporadically show the little eye icon recognizing I was looking at it, or just go to sleep even though I was looking right at it.

S-Beam works like a charm (tried it with photos, only took a moment) and they say you can transfer a 1GB movie in three minutes. Regular Android Beam also works with non-GS3 phones.

The camera seemed to work really well. I was impressed with how well Best Shot picked out photos that were in-focus and well lit.

Little touches like the range of gestures made the GS3 a joy to use. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time trying it out yesterday, and I know it will be my next phone!

I think the option of expandable memory alone makes the GS3 a big winner over the HTC One X. While I agree with others the GS3 may not be worthy of innovative design awards, I think the build quality is quite good.

[Thor]

Man I am so torn, this or the Nokia 808 with 41 mp camera, quality audio recording on video.

[Kipper is King]

Originally Posted by Thor

Man I am so torn, this or the Nokia 808 with 41 mp camera, quality audio recording on video.

While the camera on the 808 is quite cool, otherwise, it's an awful phone running Symbian. I would say go for the GS3! It still takes good snaps by phone standards.

[Old Yeller]

Well I was already pretty sold on it, but I think Kipper's review pretty much seals the deal for me.

Now to decide on provider... still leaning towards Wind.

[Kipper is King]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

Well I was already pretty sold on it, but I think Kipper's review pretty much seals the deal for me.

Now to decide on provider... still leaning towards Wind.

Note that the GS3 version Wind gets will not be LTE capable, even if you switch to a provider with LTE later. That is my understanding, anyway.

[Finner]

I stopped in at Bell on Sunday to get my name on the list for when they come in. Can't wait for the 20th!

[Kipper is King]

Originally Posted by Finner

I stopped in at Bell on Sunday to get my name on the list for when they come in. Can't wait for the 20th!

Nice! I wanted to pre-order from Telus, but I also want to trade in another phone I have to save $95. Telus told me they can't put trade-ins towards a preorder. I just have to wait until the 20th and hope there is a 32GB Pebble Blue in stock at the store.

[Anduril]

The training session was a lot of fun and the SG3 is indeed a sexy device (almost won one in a draw). Still though, there's part of me feeling hesitant to get that upgrade on my SG2 since nothing screams "must have" to me personally.

The biggest turnoff was the choice of design but having it in my hands, the hyper glaze looks clean instead of fingerprint attractive glossy and overall a very attractive device to hold. Hardly noticed the size difference from a 4.3 inch phone to the 4.7(8? Can't remember) The inclusion of the home button felt like a sore thumb just sticking out but still feels like an old friend. Well made, it's a lot less intrusive than how it looks.

Other than that, it's what you expect it to me as a flagship device. Fast, responsive, and packed full of features.

I just might have spoiled by custom ROMs and what not that a lot of the stuff just didn't really wow me, like the pop up video. I thoroughly enjoyed the little things like text to call motion, camera features and S-Beam.


Sent from my GT-I9100M using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Anduril

I just might have spoiled by custom ROMs and what not that a lot of the stuff just didn't really wow me, like the pop up video. I thoroughly enjoyed the little things like text to call motion, camera features and S-Beam.

thanks to Cyanogenmod, the only thing i ever look at for new phones is the hardware specs. i have absolutely zero interest in whatever new features any manufacturers put in because i know as soon as i get it it'll be rooted, wiped, and a custom rom installed. that's why i had so little interest in the S3, specwise it's not that much of an upgrade over the S2

[Kipper is King]

Launch now delayed until the 27th.