Samsung S3 smart mobile phone

The Samsung S3 has now been superseded by the Galaxy S4 Mini but far from being obsolete the S3 remains a high specification phone and the continuation of the line only means that you can pick up an S3 for less than £400. It still has a great looking screen and fast quad core processor but it also, unfortunately, is still a little prone to physical damage. This is, in part at least, due to the dangerously large screen and shiny, slippery even, case.

The most notable feature of the S3, upon its release, was the huge screen. This was pretty much uncharted territory for Samsung and for other mobile phone manufacturers as it boasted a whopping 4.8 inch screen. While the huge screen size did have its early critics and there are still some detractors, once you play around with the phone for a while, watch some video, and play some games you may well wonder how you ever managed with a piffling 4 inch screen diameter.

Fortunately, size isn’t the only thing that the Samsung screen gets right. It has dark blacks and crisp colours thanks to the high resolution super AMOLED screen and while it has the same resolution but a larger screen than the HTC One X, it is this quality of colours and blacks that helps the Samsung S3 win that little competition. So long as you can fit the phone in your hand then you should find the large screen and excellent resolution to be a genuine gift.

The cameras don’t have the numbers to set the S3 apart from its main rivals. It does, however, have an 8MP rear camera and a 1.9MP front camera. Not only can the front camera record 720p video but it can also take still photos while recording video footage. The rear camera is, of course, the better quality of the two and this will record in full 1080p video. Samsung does know a few things about camera sensors and colours, and while 8MP may not be ground-breaking in terms of numbers it still manages to offer great quality shots.

The S3 features a quad core processor that is seriously fast, although not quite as impressive as the one in the HTC One X. It will tear through games and apps, though, and it will allow you to run multiple applications at once without suffering and slow down or screen freezing. The phone runs the latest version of Android, although you may need to update to enjoy the very latest iteration, and it is built to ably and happily cope with just about anything you can digitally throw at it.

The size of the Samsung S3 can take some getting used to it but many sceptics have been swayed once they actually sit down to use the phone. The size may not be essential but you will feel that other phones pale in comparison when you pick them up. The speed, the power, and the great, if a little slippery, design of the phone make it great value for money.