samsung s3

If you bought a Galaxy S3 you’ll have contributed the phenomenal success of their latest smartphone release. Both of its predecessors; the Galaxy S and the Samsung Galaxy S2 reached fantastic sales levels but it appears that sales of the S3 have outpaced their previous sales records with market analysts forecasting that after just two months since its global launch, sales will reach the amazing milestone of 10 million in July. This will come as no surprise if the figures include the impressive 9 million pre-orders.

You've got a choice of annoyingly named colours such as "marble white", "pebble blue", "amber brown", "garnet red", "sapphire black" or "titanium grey".

I say "large device", but given the current range of massive flagships with the 5.5-inch LG G3, the 5.2-inch Sony Xperia Z2 and the 5.1-inch Galaxy S5 (dare I mention the 6.4-inch Xperia Z Ultra) the Galaxy S3 is by no means huge. During day-to-day use I found that the Galaxy S3 is just about the perfect size for me, and my hands are by no means small.

I'll lay it out right now: the plastic feeling of the Galaxy S3 won't appeal to all, especially against the likes of the all metal HTC One and One M8. It feels very lightweight (despite tipping the scales at 133g/4.7oz) in the hand, and some people will read this as feeling a little cheap.


Let me be clear though, the Galaxy S3 is not a cheap-feeling phone. It's got a really solid Gorilla Glass 2 front, a well-packaged interior and a more robust battery cover. It's polycarbonate rather than bog-standard plastic, although I'm not sure some people will like the more rounded nature of the design.

When it comes to colour options, there's no doubt in my mind that the pebble blue offering is more attractive than the white (the marble white looks similar to a low-end Galaxy Mini or similar), but the host of extra colours I mentioned earlier really do mean that you're not tied down.

As the Galaxy S3 was the launch pad for the design of almost every Galaxy handset to date, the rounded nature does feel very familiar, even if it was a little controversial on the day of its announcement.

Overall the Samsung Galaxy S3 feels superb in the hand. The design contours well against the palm, and while the screen size may be a little big for some (you'll need a bit of shuffling to reach the upper section of the screen) it's definitely more than useable day to day.

In short, the Galaxy S3 still manages to retain its premium feel and is shaping up to be a bit of a bargain with its lower price tag.