Galaxy S3: Exceeding Android

Anirvan Ghosh
Updated: Jun 4, 2012 07:12:43 PM UTC

Samsung India had no clue that their biggest launch event of the year would turn out to be a 'Bharat Bandh'. Most of the journalists did manage to make it to the event, which shimmered in glamour and glitz. Quite like the phone itself, which they tout as the most advanced mobile phone on the planet.

But it is after all an Android, which has always played catch-up to Apple, and its superior innovation. By launching S3 ahead of the planned launch of the next iPhone in June, Samsung seeks to go a step ahead. It shall now compete with the much anticipated iPhone 5.

The launch in India comes around a couple of weeks after it was first unveiled in London. But they timed it to be in sync with sales that start tomorrow. It went on sale in Europe two days ago, and today it was launched here and in Sydney, Australia. Clearly Samsung thinks that the price tag of Rs 43,180 will get them enough customers in India. This price is  much more than its closest Android competitor, HTC One, and closer to the insane pricing of iPhone 4S. You can see the recorded webcast here.

Samsung's South West Asia President and CEO Mr B.D. Park was present, along with Mr H.C. Ryu, VP, Sales and Marketing. This reminds me of the BlackBerry Curve 9220 launch  sometime back where much of their global executive team was down here. For Samsung, which sold over 20 million units of the previous model S2, this country is an additional space for growth and they take it seriously, as we will see later in the offerings made with this phone. That's unlike RIM, for whom this market is a blip of hope in a sea of disappointing results and dropping sales.

I won't go much into the features - they are top of the line, and the phone does look sleek. To me the 4.8 inch display looked stunning in its clarity, but too big to fit in a jeans pocket. In colder climes where people wear more of jackets and coats, this won't be a problem but in India this size isn't usually popular. More features are here. 

Much has been made about the Direct Call feature, where the phone is expected to dial automatically if you are texting someone and raise the phone to your ear. During the demo it did not work, nor did it work when I had a feel of it post the launch. Android has sometimes emulated some of Apple phone features; Galaxy S3 has a Siri-like feature built in here, called 'S Voice', which they claim is more responsive. It is responsive, but you really have to hold the phone close - and so you might as well just go ahead and do the task using the touchscreen. I don't think this feature would really make a difference, and the innovation credit has already been taken by Apple. Siri was new, it was exciting. This one might be better, but the novelty has worn off.

Nargis Fakri made an appearance at the event but all she managed to do was prove how clueless she was about the phone. She drew some gasps when she appeared on stage in a blue shimmering dress but her voice betrayed her apparent enthusiasm when she was taken through the various features. Samsung would do well to get a better actor next time.

The most useful feature here was the file sharing facility called S Beam. This expands on the Android Beam technology allowing you to transfer files by just touching one phone to the other. It does work, but only with another Samsung S3 phone. That's a major limitation,  but Samsung is perhaps hoping groups of friends would all buy this phone and then share files quickly (1 GB file takes 3 minutes to get transferred). This is a feature that Apple clearly lacks. Wireless file transfers are a bit of a pain in the iPhone.

Samsung has also paid attention to the Indian market by putting up many Indian movies and songs in its My Music and My Movies apps. I don't know of any other top-leagues smartphone which has so much of local content. This is expected to be a strong draw, even with the eye-popping price tag. Overall, this is a good device, but I would urge you to wait till June for the new iPhone 5. Going by Apple's record so far, that might take mobile design to a new level - so that would be a good time to choose.

Corrections & Clarifications: This blog has been updated with corrections made on statements made around Galaxy S3 launch timing as well as Android's emulation of Apple phone features. 

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.

Check out our end of season subscription discounts with a Moneycontrol pro subscription absolutely free. Use code EOSO2021. Click here for details.

Post Your Comment
Required
Required, will not be published
All comments are moderated