Samsung Galaxy S III: Summer blockbuster defined by superstar software (image gallery)

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  • T-Mobile Galaxy S III retail box

    T-Mobile Galaxy S III retail box

    As you can see T-Mobile sells the Galaxy S III in an attractive navy blue box.

    Please make sure to check out my full ZDNet Smartphones & Cell Phones blog post that contains all of my thoughts and experiences with using the device.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Back of the Galaxy S III box

    Back of the Galaxy S III box

    Some of the major specifications and features are highlighted on the back of the retail box.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Here's the Galaxy S III

    Here's the Galaxy S III

    After sliding off the sleeve and opening the box lid you will find the Galaxy S III with its protective and descriptive plastic protector.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Box contents

    Box contents

    You will find a USB cable, USB charger, and a decent wired stereo headset in the retail package. A Quick Start Guide is also included, along with other legal brochures.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Hardware button is useful

    Hardware button is useful

    Unlike the changes made to the US version of the Galaxy Note, the Galaxy S III maintains the single center hardware button seen on the international model. The button is used to get back to the home screen, access the task switcher, and access S Voice.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Above the display

    Above the display

    The headset speaker, sensors, LED indicator light, and front facing camera are found above the gorgeous 4.8 inch display.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Back of the Galaxy S III

    Back of the Galaxy S III

    The LED flash, 8 megapixel camera, and speaker are found along the upper back of the device.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • microUSB is used for multiple things

    microUSB is used for multiple things

    You can use the microUSB port to charge the phone, connect to a PC, and connect to an external display with a MHL adaptor.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • T-Mobile and Galaxy S III logos

    T-Mobile and Galaxy S III logos

    There are a couple of logos on the back for the carrier and branding of the smartphone.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Left side of the Galaxy S III

    Left side of the Galaxy S III

    Minimal buttons and ports are found on the Galaxy S III. The left side simply has a volume button. The right side just has the Samsung on/off button. The top is where the 3.5mm headset jack is found.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Front of Galaxy S III and Galaxy Nexus

    Front of Galaxy S III and Galaxy Nexus

    Here you can see that both of these Ice Cream Sandwich devices are very similar in size and design. The hardware button on the Galaxy S III is a distinguishing factor.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Back of Galaxy S III and Galaxy Nexus

    Back of Galaxy S III and Galaxy Nexus

    The Galaxy S III has a fully removable back while some of the Galaxy Nexus is not removable and has texture.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Behind the back cover

    Behind the back cover

    The removable battery, microSIM card, and microSD card slots are found under the back cover.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Sleek design of the front glass with curves

    Sleek design of the front glass with curves

    There are lots of curves on the Galaxy S III. I like the way the glass front curves to the edges on the front.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Galaxy S III lock screen

    Galaxy S III lock screen

    You can customize the four application shortcuts on the lock screen and also include things like the weather if you desire.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Typical Galaxy S III home screen

    Typical Galaxy S III home screen

    Here you can see what a typical home screen looks like. Note the use of more traditional Gingerbread folders rather than the newer ICS folder structure found on the HTC One X and others.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Another home screen with widgets

    Another home screen with widgets

    There are up to seven available home screens on the Galaxy S III and I prefer to use them all for apps and widgets.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Apps launcher

    Apps launcher

    Tapping the Apps icon on the lower right brings you to this launcher view where you can then launch apps you do not already have shortcuts setup for on your home screen.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Widget selector

    Widget selector

    You can select from a number of widgets to use on your home screens. To select you simply tap and hold and then drag the widget to the location where you want it display.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Functional calculator

    Functional calculator

    Too often the basic calculator is not enough so it is nice to see Samsung put a bit of effort into this one.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Flipboard on the Galaxy S III

    Flipboard on the Galaxy S III

    Flipboard was revealed at the Galaxy S III announcement and was supposed to be an exclusive launch app. It soon was made available as a beta to all Android owners.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Motion tips

    Motion tips

    Samsung implements lots of motions on the Galaxy S III and when you get into a situation where a motion would be useful a tips screen pops up to help you out.  You can tap the checkbox to turn off these tips in the future too.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • View of the Games Hub

    View of the Games Hub

    Samsung includes a couple of different content hubs, including this Games Hub. It is designed to feature games and help you find apps.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Another helpful motion tip

    Another helpful motion tip

    Here is a another cool tip to help remind you about missed alerts if you were away from your phone.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Samsung Media Hub

    Samsung Media Hub

    I enjoy renting movies and watching them when I travel so it is nice to see the Media Hub loaded on this device.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Interactive zoom options

    Interactive zoom options

    Fingers and parts of your hand are used for motion control.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • S Memo is a useful utility

    S Memo is a useful utility

    S Memo was brought over from the Galaxy Note and integrates well with Google Docs and Evernote.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Menu options in S Memo

    Menu options in S Memo

    There are plenty of options in S Memo.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • S Voice is like Siri for Android

    S Voice is like Siri for Android

    Samsung includes a very functional utility for voice control called S Voice.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • It's not always perfect with S Voice

    It's not always perfect with S Voice

    S Voice works well most of the time, but it is not perfect and does have limitations.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • S Voice list of options 1

    S Voice list of options 1

    Here is a screenshot of the first page of S Voice options.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • S Voice list of options 2

    S Voice list of options 2

    And more S Voice options for you to enjoy.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • S Voice and weather

    S Voice and weather

    The weather requests in S Voice tend to work very well.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • S Suggest screenshot

    S Suggest screenshot

    Samsung's S Suggest area is where you will find recommended apps and have the ability to rate apps to share with friends too.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Video player on Galaxy S III

    Video player on Galaxy S III

    When you launch the video player you will see each video playing in the thumbnail size view.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Galaxy S III settings, screen 1

    Galaxy S III settings, screen 1

    There are a ton of settings on the Galaxy S III that let you customize the device to your particular preferences.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Display settings

    Display settings

    This screenshot shows you an example of some display settings.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • LED indicator settings

    LED indicator settings

    It is great to see an LED light on the Galaxy S III and in these settings you can customize some options.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Motion settings

    Motion settings

    Samsung includes a ton of different motion options on the Galaxy S III.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • More motion settings

    More motion settings

    Here are even more motion settings for the Galaxy S III.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Storage status

    Storage status

    There are two integrated memory options and support for a microSD card.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Samsung Galaxy S III dialer

    Samsung Galaxy S III dialer

    Here is the dialer of the Galaxy S III.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Create custom vibration patterns

    Create custom vibration patterns

    I have never seen this option before, but Samsung lets you create custom vibration patterns.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Shooting mode options

    Shooting mode options

    There are several different shooting modes available on the Galaxy S III.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Camera settings

    Camera settings

    In addition to the shooting mode, you will find flash control, scenes, and more.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Plenty of camera settings

    Plenty of camera settings

    There are a LOT of settings in the camera software.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Video recording interface

    Video recording interface

    Note the camera shutter button in the upper right of this image. You can capture still images while recording video.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • More scene modes

    More scene modes

    Lots of fun scene modes in the camera.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Custom camera interface

    Custom camera interface

    It is fantastic to see that you can customize the four shortcuts in the camera software so your most used are readily accessible.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Gallery options

    Gallery options

    There are also plenty of options in the Gallery application.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Face tag is helpful

    Face tag is helpful

    Here is a sample of a Face tag.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Face tag facilitates sharing

    Face tag facilitates sharing

    Samsung provides different ways to help you easily share content.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Email a picture from within the Gallery

    Email a picture from within the Gallery

    You don't even have to leave the Gallery to share your photos.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Gallery view

    Gallery view

    Here you can see top menu bar options, the thumbnail slider, and more.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Exchange search function

    Exchange search function

    Exchange support is actually quite good on the Galaxy S III.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Folders in Exchange

    Folders in Exchange

    Unlike earlier Samsung models that limited your access, you get full access to your account on the Galaxy S III.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Kies air works great on a MacBook Pro

    Kies air works great on a MacBook Pro

    The Kies air app can be quite useful, especially if you don't have a Windows PC.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Galaxy S III gallery thumbnail 1

    Galaxy S III gallery thumbnail 1

    Galaxy S III gallery thumbnail 1

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Galaxy S III gallery thumbnail 2

    Galaxy S III gallery thumbnail 2

    Galaxy S III gallery thumbnail 2

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Galaxy S III photo: cruise ship in Mexico

    Galaxy S III photo: cruise ship in Mexico

    I captured this during one of our port calls.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Galaxy S III photo: Me and Captain America

    Galaxy S III photo: Me and Captain America

    Here is a shot of one of my favorite superheroes of all time.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

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I awarded the Galaxy S III my top spot for hot smartphones of the summer and after using it for the last two weeks I can confirm that it is definitely the phone to beat in the heat. You can enjoy some hands-on photos of the Galaxy S III and several screenshots of the software that sets it apart. Make sure to check out my full ZDNet Smartphones & Cell Phones review for plenty more details.

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T-Mobile Galaxy S III retail box

As you can see T-Mobile sells the Galaxy S III in an attractive navy blue box.

Please make sure to check out my full ZDNet Smartphones & Cell Phones blog post that contains all of my thoughts and experiences with using the device.

Caption by: Matthew Miller

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