Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III The Complete Guide to Specs Prices and Features

Design and Build Quality

The Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III stands as an embodiment of sleek and aesthetically pleasing design in the realm of smartphones from its era. Featuring dimensions of 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm and weighing in at just 133 grams, this phone was both lightweight and comfortable to hold. The front of the device is adorned with a glass surface protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 2, providing resistance against scratches and minor impacts, ensuring a durable yet elegant appearance.

The back and frame of the Galaxy S III are made of plastic, contributing to its lightweight design. The phone's rounded edges and ergonomic design enhance its handling, making it easy to operate with one hand. With a micro-SIM card slot, the phone was designed for utility and convenience, catering to the standard at the time of its release. Available in a variety of colors such as Pebble Blue, Marble White, Amber Brown, Garnet Red, Sapphire Black, Titanium Grey, and La Fleur, users had a plethora of options to suit personal style preferences.

Display

The Samsung Galaxy S III boasts a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display which offers vibrant and sharp images, enhancing the user's viewing experience. With a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels and a 16:9 aspect ratio, users were offered a crisp display with 306 pixels per inch. This pixel density ensured clarity, making reading text and viewing images a pleasurable experience.

The display occupies around 65.9% of the body, offering a broad viewing area for its time while maintaining the overall compactness of the device. This Super AMOLED screen technology is renowned for delivering deep blacks and vivid colors, providing an excellent contrast ratio that further enhances image quality. The Gorilla Glass 2 protection safeguarded the screen, adding durability to its design.

Camera

The Galaxy S III was equipped with an 8 MP rear camera with features like autofocus and an LED flash, which allowed users to capture clear and bright photos in different lighting conditions. The camera was capable of recording 1080p video at 30 frames per second, catering to users who demanded high-quality video recording capabilities for memories and moments on the go.

Additionally, the device sported a 1.9 MP front-facing camera with the ability to record 720p video, which was quite sufficient for video calls and self-portraits during its time of release. The camera software included various settings and features that gave users more control over their photography, enhancing the overall user experience.

Performance

Under the hood, the Galaxy S III is powered by the Exynos 4412 Quad chipset, featuring a quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU. This configuration ensured smooth performance across a variety of applications and multitasking scenarios. The Mali-400MP4 GPU provided ample power to handle graphic-intensive applications and games, bringing a robust entertainment experience to the user.

With 1 GB of RAM, the device handled daily tasks efficiently, allowing users to switch between applications with minimal delay. The internal storage options included 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB capacities, and the presence of a dedicated microSDXC card slot allowed for further expansion, which was a valuable feature for users with heavy storage demands.

Operating System and User Interface

The Samsung Galaxy S III originally debuted with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich and was later upgradeable to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Samsung's TouchWiz UI offered a user-friendly interface with customizable options, widgets, and shortcuts that enhanced usability. The interface was designed to access essential features and apps quickly, making the overall experience more intuitive.

TouchWiz provided added functionality over the stock Android experience, presenting features like S Voice, Smart Stay, and Pop-Up Play, which introduced innovative ways to interact with the device.

Battery Life

The Galaxy S III comes with a removable Li-Ion 2100 mAh battery, offering a flexible alternative for users who preferred carrying spare batteries on long trips. The battery provided a respectable lifespan, with a standby time of up to 590 hours on 2G and 790 hours on 3G networks. Talk time was notably significant as well, with up to 21 hours and 40 minutes on 2G and up to 11 hours and 40 minutes on 3G, allowing for extensive use before needing a recharge.

The efficiency combined with the removable nature of the battery was a hallmark aspect of this device, offering an adaptable approach to power management and longevity.

Connectivity and Features

The Samsung Galaxy S III was equipped with several connectivity options to keep users connected wherever they go. It supported GSM and HSPA technologies, along with 2G and 3G bands, ensuring broad compatibility with mobile networks globally. The phone was capable of HSPA speeds up to 21.1/5.76 Mbps, facilitating fast data transmission for browsing and streaming.

Additional features like Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, and DLNA enabled various wireless connectivity options. Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, EDR, and aptX ensured seamless connectivity with accessories such as wireless headphones and car kits. Moreover, the inclusion of NFC technology allowed for contactless payment and data transfer, marking a forward-thinking approach to wireless communications.

With the presence of GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, the device offered precise positioning services, making navigation reliable. The microUSB 2.0 port supported USB On-The-Go and MHL TV-out, enabling connections to external displays and peripheral devices.

Sensors and Additional Features

The Galaxy S III incorporated a variety of sensors, including an accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, compass, and barometer. These sensors enabled features like screen auto-rotate, smart alerts, and more interactive applications tailored for user convenience and device interaction.

The loudspeaker provided clear audio output with supporting stereo FM radio features that included RDS. The 3.5mm headphone jack allowed users to connect traditional audio devices for an enhanced music experience.

Final Thoughts

The Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III was a flagship device that set benchmarks in design, functionality, and performance in its time. It catered well to tech-savvy consumers demanding cutting-edge technology and intuitive design, laying a foundation for future smartphone innovation.