First Impression


In terms of design, the phone is dominated by the spacious 4.8-inch screen, speaker, tiny light and proximity sensors, a 1.9-megapixel front camera as well as quite large home button.



Samsung placed the back and settings buttons next to the home button, which is pretty much the company’s standard layout. The back side features a speaker, camera with LED flash and of course, a Samsung logo. The bottom of the phone hides a bog standard micro USB port, while the 3.5mm audio jack is located at the top.



The traditional Samsung layout continues on the sides. The power/lock button is on the right hand side and the volume rocker on the left. There is no dedicated camera button.



At its launch event Samsung told the world that the Galaxy S3 was inspired by pebbles, water and natural design and it tells the story with interactive live wallpapers that with water ripple effects accompanied by sound. Some will like it, others will not. The shape of the phone really reminds us of the Galaxy Nexus with a somewhat flimsier cover.



The back cover mechanism is very similar to the one used on the Galaxy Nexus and we cannot resist saying that the back of the back cover feels really cheap, especially for such a pricey device.



Greasy smudges will appear as soon as you lay your hands on it, especially in the freakish hot weather experienced around the world this summer. The plastic itself feels cheap and it is actually significantly worse than the Galaxy 2, which is really surprising.



The Pebble Blue color looks nice on this phone and if you love jeans, it’s probably a better choice than the white one, but once again this is a matter of personal preference. In any case the design is great, the phone looks a lot sleeker than its predecessor and the only letdown is the flimsy battery cover.